Moonlight Hotel
by CocoCatz
Summary: The story is reaching the end------but how will Shinichi and Kaito escape the burning mansion? Ran and Aoko waited patiently for their return, even though Heiji and Hakuba said they are dead----- I am also going back and improving the old chapters! 0
1. The Beginning

Hello Conan Fans!!!  
This is my second attempt to try and write a fic, its a sequel of my first fic, Summer Camp. (If you havent read it, plz give it a try! And leave some reviews for it--- =^_^= )  
I know my grammar and spelling are appalling, so please bear with me------  
now, thank you for clicking on my fic out of so many other great stories, and I hope you will enjoy the fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!!   
  
  
Catz  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
Beginning  
  
  
The boy walked slowly along the beach, looking at the dark blue sky and the millions of stars above him, he let out a heavy sigh.  
He stood in the shallow beach, let the ice cold sea waves washed over his feet. It felt so cold and empty, just like how the boy felt right now.   
He shivered, it was cold on England's beach, even at summer.  
He stood there for a while, staring at the moons wavy reflection, listening to the wind blow, then decided its time to go home. Only he didnt want to go home, he hated his so called "home".  
  
He walked, towards the mansion not far away from the beach, the light inside the mansion made it looks huge and beautiful, but the boy hated this mansion. His home.  
Something made him stop.  
Something was not quit right, feeling uneasy, he looked behind him.   
In the dark night, the boy saw an object being washed up to the beach, it rolled over slowly with each wave, till it was stuck on the sandy beach.  
  
The boy froze.  
It was a man.   
  
"DAD!!!!!!" Cried the boy. He ran towards the man, shouting.   
"DAD!!!", only this time, the man will not answer back to his sons cry.  
  
************************************************  
  
"Hattori! Where are you going?" asked Kazuha, looking at her best friend sneaking out from the backdoor of his house with a huge backpack. Her voice made him jumped approximately his own height.  
It is the first day of their summer holiday, and Kazuha was walking to Heijis house. As usual, she used the backdoor because she cant be bothered to ring the bell and wait for 5 minutes till Heiji answer the door.  
  
"Shhhhhh!! Toyama! Be quiet!" said Heiji nervously, "I am just popping out for a minute, dont make so much noise---!"  
"Oh--- I see." Nodded Toyama with the half moon eyes, "Then, I am going with you."  
"What?! NO way!" shouted Heiji, quickly, he grabbed his helmet and ran towards his motorbike.  
  
"Hattori!!" shouted Kazuha, chasing behind Heiji and watched him jumped onto the motorbike, started the engine.  
"You didnt tell your parents where you are going, did you!?" Kazuha shouted as Heiji was halfway through the back gate of his garden.  
  
"See you later, Toyama!" Shouted Heiji. "I`ll be back!" He disappeared at the end of the road.  
"Baka!" shouted Kazuha "Who do you think you are? Arnold Schwasengger?!"  
  
************************************************  
  
  
"Heiji! You made it!" Grinned Kudou, opening his front door.  
"Yeah, and it was a long ride!" complained Heiji. "Got anything to eat? I am hungry!" then he noticed Kudou was still holding the door open. "What are you doing?"  
  
Shinichi smiled. "Waiting for Kazuha, of course!" He mocked.  
"Hey!" shouted Heiji. "I got rid of her this time! I didnt tell her where I was going, so she wont be coming!"  
"Dont bet on it" muttered Kudou, closing the door.  
  
Heiji sat down on the sofa, looked around the room. "Where is Ran?"  
Shinichi shrugged. "She is not coming either, I didnt tell her anything."  
Then they looked at each other and let out a heavy sigh. "Dont bet on it!!" said Heiji.  
Just when Shinichi was brining out some crisps and coke, the door bell rang. Shinichi and Heiji both jerked up.  
"Who is it?!" asked Heiji nervously, peeking out through the window. He could see a boy standing by the front gate and kept on pushing the bell button impatiently.   
"Well, at least it is not a Toyama or Ran----"  
  
Shinichi went and answer the door, seconds later, he and the other boy stepped into the house.  
"Hey! Its a nice house you got here!" said the boy, putting down his luggage, looking around.  
"Kaito! Wuz up!" smiled Heiji "Long time no see!"  
  
Kaito grinned at Heiji. "You guys wont believe the trouble I went through to get rid of Aoko! She wont be coming with us." As soon as he finished the sentence, he noticed Kudou and Heiji both have a strange expression on their face. "What?"  
  
"Anyway," said Shinichi. Putting three tickets on to the table. "Here is the plane tickets, we leave this afternoon, and we should get there tomorrow night."  
"Great! Now you can tell me about the case properly." Said Heiji, sitting on the sofa and eating the crisps.  
Kaito sat down too and looked around the house. Shinichi gave him a "Dont touch anything" look, but Kaito just grinned at him.  
  
  
"All I know is that Hakuba phoned me and asked me to go and visit him in England with you guys. At the same time, help him to solve a murder case." Said Shinichi, then he added happily. "Hakuba say he will also take me to where Sherlock Holmes lived! I can finally see the real place!"  
  
"Its the first time this guy ever asks help from anyone--------" mumbled Kaito, obviously not interested in Sherlock Holmes .   
"SO that is why you wanted to go!" grinned Heiji. "You mention something about a diamond on the phone last night. What was it again?"  
  
"Pandora. Diamond Pandora." Said Kudou, looking straight at Kaito.  
Kaitos eyes glow the second he heard the name of the diamond. His blue eyes suddenly became cold and sharp, he looked thoughtfully at Kudou, but he didnt say anything.  
"I dont know the full story, but the murder case is involved with the diamond in some way." Said Kudou.  
  
"Pandora------" muttered Heiji, one hand on his chin, the typical "thoughtful" gesture that a detective should have. "That wine guy-what was it--- oh yeah, Gin, isnt it? He mentioned about this diamond too....before he felt off the cliff----" Heiji stopped and noticed the awkward silence between them. None of them will want to remember what happened to Gin. Shinichi stared at his hand. The wound healed ages ago, but he could still remember the pain when Gin stabbed him.  
  
"Where is Ai?" asked Kaito suddenly. "Does she know about this?"  
"No, she---" Shinichi stopped. "Look, if she know about this, she will want to come too. Hakuba and I both got a feeling that this case is about the Black organization. That is why he wants me to go."   
"So why are you coming?" asked Heiji to Kaito.   
"Well---- lets just say, I got my reasons." Smiled Kaito  
"Eh?" blinked Heiji.  
  
Kaito and Kudou both exchanged a look and smiled.  
"Well, lets get ready then, we have to leave now to catch the plane" said Shinichi, then he noticed Hattori. "Heiji! You finished the whole packet of crisps!!?? I was going to eat them!"  
"Em? Yeah--- I said I was hungry----" shrugged Heiji, with food still in his mouth.  
"But--- in just 5 minutes?!" shouted Kudou.  
  
"Cant believe I am going on holiday with you two---" muttered Kaito as he stepped out of the house.  
  
  
  
  
*****************************************  
To be continue------------------------- 


	2. Welcome To The Moonlight Hotel

Chapter 2  
Welcome to the Moonlight Hotel  
  
  
  
"Well, here we are!" said Shinichi, putting down his luggage and looked around the airport. He turned to Kaito and Heiji, who, was still eating the biscuits from the plane.   
"All we need to do now is find a taxi!"  
"Or," said Kaito, looking at the crowed and busy Heathrow airport "Hakuba could give us a lift". He nodded towards a direction.  
Shinichi must say he was quit impress with Kaitos good eyesight, because he didnt see Hakuba until he was at least 10 meters away from them. Hakuba smiled and waved his arm, meaning: "Come with me!"  
  
  
Three boys caught up with Hakuba, outside the airport, and saw him went into a big, black BMW.   
The driver stood next to it and opened the door for them.  
"Hey, glad to see you guys." Said Hakuba happily. "Come on in, we can have a good long chat!"  
"OR a good old fight!" muttered Kaito as he sat into the car.  
  
  
The car left the Airport and went onto the motor way.  
"Is this your car?" asked Heiji to Hakuba.  
"Eh? No, it is my dads car, he let me borrow it when ever I want. Which, also include the driver." Replied Hakuba, then he saw the grin on Kudou's face.  
"At least you didn't come to pick us up with a police car!" said Kudou, and got the half moon eyes from Heiji.  
"I was going to, but then I thought about how long the journey will be, it is not that comfortable in a police car!" laughed Hakuba.  
  
  
"Yeah yeah, so you got a big nice car and a big nice dad. Now how about this case? The Diamond Pandora?" interrupted Kaito impatiently, looking annoyed.   
"You haven't changed a bit, Kaito." Said Hakuba. "How is Aoko? I hope she find someone else who is more suitable to be her boyfriend."  
"Hey!! You---!"   
Shinichi put up his hand and stop them for arguing. "LETS hear about the case, Hakuba."  
Hakuba frowned at Kaito and saw Kaito pulled a face at him.   
"These two will never grow up------" thought Heiji.  
  
  
"Anyway" said Hakuba. "We are going to Bournemouth, which is a town near the seaside."   
"The hotel we are going to visit is called the Moonlight Hotel. It is a mansion run by a wealthy royal family. Well, they were wealthy until the last 10 years. So this is why they gave up some of the rooms and started the hotel business"  
"The hotel owner is Sir Norferk, he have 3 sons and two daughters. Sir Norferks two sisters and their husbands also lives there together with them. There are several maids and house keepers, gardeners---- well, the lot."  
  
  
"What about Mrs. Norferk?" asked Heiji, while thinking how strange those names are.  
"No, Heiji, LADY Norferk. She died 7 years ago. When Richard was 11 years old." Replied Hakuba sadly. "Richard is Sir Norferk's youngest son, he is also my good friend."  
  
  
"So---who got murdered in this family? What is this case about?" asked Shinichi.  
"Lady Norferk." Replied Hakuba calmly.  
  
  
"WHAT!!??" shouted Heiji and Shinichi. "BUT she died 10 years ago!"  
"I know, I know" Hakuba smiled. "But, check this out, the family believes that Lady Norferk is murdered by one of the family member, and her ghost have came back to revenge."  
  
  
Hakuba then watched the boys face expression torn between the desire to laugh and the desire go mad.  
  
  
"This is the most ridicules thing I have ever heard." Shouted Kaito. "There is no such a thing as a ghost!"  
"How would you know?!" argued Hakuba. "Richard will not lie to me, he asked me to help him, and that is exactly what I am going to do!"  
"What about the black organization?" asked Kaito. "What about the diamond?"  
  
  
"What's up with you and this diamond?!" asked Hakuba, annoyed. But he decided to go on.   
"Well--- the most valuable jewelry in the mansion is the diamond. Which, is called Pandora. It has been in the family for the past who know how many hundreds of years." Answered Hakuba, he then saw Kaito's face, who's eyes glowed with excitement.  
  
  
"Richard told me that the diamond was hidden in the mansion somewhere, but no one can find it." Hakuba smiled. "The family thinks Sir Norferk know where the diamond is, but he wont talk about it, I think he is trying to protect it from being stolen.   
Two thieves broke into the hotel last week and Richard saw them, both of them were wearing black. The thieves escaped from the hotel, the family thinks they were after the diamond."  
  
  
"Well, so?" replied Heiji. "Most thief will wear black so it will be harder to see them in the dark."  
Shinichi and Kaito then both made some disagreeable noises when Heiji came out with this remark.  
"What?!" asked Heiji.  
  
  
"Yeah, but these two thief were wearing black in the middle of the day. In a mansion that decoration is mostly white and red." Smiled Hakuba. "Either they are really stupid or there is a special reason that they were wearing black."  
"Or maybe they just like black----" said Heiji, he doesn't think those two men have any connection with the organization.  
  
  
Just when the boys wanted to talk more, the car stopped. The driver opened the door and the boys stepped out of the car. The driver unload the luggage, said goodbye to each of them, then drove away.  
  
  
In front of them, was the Moonlight Mansion.   
It was huge, with more then 100 rooms, 1000 windows, huge garden and countless stairs. But this was not the most eye catching feature, the mansion was OLD. Poison Ivy covered all over the mansion and gave it an aging feeling.  
"Wow-----" said Heiji. "Em--- nice."   
"Really?" said Kaito. "I was thinking more along the line of :haunted, ghost, or----."  
Hakuba nodded. "Yeah, typical English style. I like it anyway." He picked up the his luggage.   
"Come on, lets go and meet the family."  
  
  
Then, they saw a little girl, with blond hair and a black dress, singing and jumping down the stairs from the mansion, waving some flowers in her hand. Her cute face and green eyes will always make people go :  
"Awwwww--! How sweet!"   
  
  
  
Then the boys heard what she was singing.  
  
"Welcome to the Moonlight Hotel  
  
Every room cast its own spell  
Looks like heaven but it could be hell  
Every night when the demon calls   
Its time to give your dying soul  
In the corner of the darkest room  
Awaits your most horrid doom  
There is no way out of this place  
You will vanish with out a trace  
For once you can never tell  
If this is a nightmare or its real"  
  
  
The boys watched till she disappear behind the mansion. They could still hear the girls sweet singing voice, they looked at each other, then it started to rain.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To Be Continue--------------------- 


	3. Bleeding Portrait

Chapter 3  
Bleeding portrait  
  
  
  
"Em--- ok, that was not the kind of song I will sing----" said Hakuba as he press the bell.  
"Do you know that girl?" asked Heiji.  
"Nop. Never seen her before."  
  
The door opened, and instead of a typical ugly old man who answered it (like you would expect in an old mansion like this), it was a handsome young man.  
"Hakuba! You are finally here!" shouted the young man happily, he have a pair of nice green eyes and light brown hair. He reaches out to shake hands with Hakuba.  
  
"Yes. It is nice to see you again, Richard." Hakuba said in a very *English* gentlemen way.   
"And these are my friends I mentioned to you. Kudou Shinichi, Heiji Hattori, and em--- Kaito Kuroba"  
  
Richards eyes went wide and he smiled. "Interesting names, it is very nice to meet you all of you. My name is Richard Norferk." Then Richard shook hands with all of them.   
"Please come on in!" said the brown hair young man, waved his hand and smiled the whole time.  
  
As the boys walked into the mansion, they noticed it iwa decorated like a mixture between hotel, mansion and art gallery.   
There were huge paintings of portraits on the wall, the kind that have eyes following you where ever you go.   
Red carpet, long, old curtains, oak furniture, loads of mirrors. It gave out an old and formal atmosphere. The boys looked around the big hall and was fascinated by the size of the mansion.  
It was not dark at all, there was loads of lights and lamps all over the place, it chased away that spooky feelings the portraits gives to people.  
Over all, it seems to be a very comfortable place.  
  
  
"Food!" shouted Heiji in English as soon as they walked pass the kitchen.   
Along with a *funny* accent, Heiji asked :"What are we having for dinner?"   
Richard smiled, as the boys followed him to their rooms which were located up stairs, he turned around to face Heiji.  
"We are having Yorkshire pudding or you can have black pudding. Mash potatoes, pork, beef, chicken. After that we have either pie or cakes."  
"Sounds delicious!" said Kaito, showing that he could speak good English too, "What is a black pudding?"  
Hakuba grinned at him. "It is blood pudding. It is made out of blood."  
He watched as Kaitos face turned into a funny colour.  
"We also have fish, if that is better?" asked Richard, then he noticed Kaitos face turned from disgusted into pure horror.  
  
  
*****************************************************  
  
The boys only had two rooms to share with, each with two single beds, so it wasn't hard to guess who and who Shouldn't be in the same room.  
"I am NOT sharing a room with Kaito! I bet he snores like a pig!" said Hakuba, standing outside one of the room.  
"What?! I bet you fart at night in your own bed!" Kaito answered back.  
Richard blinked in curiosity, because the boys were arguing in Japanese.  
  
"Ok ok, how about this" said Shinichi. "I will share the room with Kaito, and Heiji you are with Hakuba."  
Heiji shrugged. "Fine by me, at least I am not acting like two little kids."  
  
*****************************************************  
  
After the rooms were sorted out, the boys followed Richard around the house, having a little tour.   
Then Kudou noticed something. Everyone in the house was wearing black, the maids, the servants, the cooks.  
Heiji also noticed all the servant were looking at them in a funny way.   
"What?! Never seen a Japanese before?!" snapped Heiji to them.  
"What is going on?" asked Kudou to Richard. "Why is everyone wearing black?"  
Suddenly, Richards green eyes was covered by a layer sadness. "Funeral. We`ve all just been to my fathers funeral this morning"  
"WHAT?!" shouted Hakuba, shocked. "Sir Norferk is dead?!"  
"Yes, it happened two days ago. I-I found his body on the beach----" Richards eyes went red, he looked pale and sick.   
"I-I believe someone killed him--- but there is nothing I could do--- Hakuba --- I --I--dont know what to do-----"   
Hakuba puts his hand on Richards shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it? We can go someplace else if you like."   
  
  
"HAKUBA!! WHAT A SURPRISE!!" screeched the woman who was walking down the stairs. She then rushed towards Hakuba and gave him a hug and big kiss on both cheeks. Of course, Hakuba did the same back to the woman.  
"I might NOT get use this English way of saying hello." Muttered Heiji, he stepped further away from Hakuba, in case the woman might suddenly noticed him and wants to give him a big kiss too.  
  
  
"Richard! You didnt tell me Hakuba is going to be here!" said the woman, she was in her mid 40s, she has light brown eyes and hair, and got a huge friendly smile on her face.  
"And who are those young handsome boys?"   
"Everyone, this is my Aunt Louise." Said Richard. "Dont worry, she wont bite. She is just a bit too friendly some times."  
"The dinner will be ready soon, please come and joining us!" said aunt Louise, she then rushed off to tell a maid that the windows are not clean enough.  
  
  
"You will meet all my family soon at the dinner table." Said Richard.  
"Em-Richard, we saw this little girl?" asked Hakuba suddenly "I have never seen her before. Is she one of your aunts daughter?"  
"What little girl?" asked Richard blankly. "We dont have any child in the hotel, and we closed since yesterday because of the funeral."  
"But--- We saw a little girl with blond hair and greens eyes-she was about 6 or 7 years old"  
  
  
While talking and walking, they arrived at the end of the corridor, then they could turn right. The shape of it is like an upside down L.   
Kaito kept quiet, eyeing the place around, then he suddenly noticed something on the wall.  
"Em, guys." Said Kaito, his voice is low and sounds surprised.   
  
  
"THAT little girl, Richard." Kaito pointed towards one of the big portrait on the end of the corridor, it was hanged at the corner. It was a portrait of a little girl in black dress.   
She was holding a white flower in her hand and her big green beautiful eyes were looking straight at the boys.  
  
  
Richard barked out a laugh. "That is a portrait of my mother, Lady Norferk, when she was 6 years old. My mother died 7 years ago!"  
Heiji was about to say something when Hakuba suddenly hold up his hand and stopped him.  
"Yes, I think we were a bit tired from the flight. Maybe we didnt see any thing at all." Said Hakuba, but he couldnt stop looking at the portrait. An uneasy feeling haunted everyone.  
  
  
As the boys walking off, they exchanged a puzzled look. They DID see a little girl walking down the stairs.  
And she looked exactly like Lady Norferk.   
Shinichi frowned, he have a bad feeling about this place from the start, but he couldnt wait to solve the mystery surrounded this place.   
His detectives sixth sense were already working as soon as he stepped into the Moonlight hotel.  
  
  
A scream.   
  
  
The boys jerked up in surprise when they realised the scream came from behind them.  
They turned around and saw a young woman collapsed on the floor. Mouth opened, face paled, she was shaking.  
"Anne! " shouted Richard to his sister. "What is wrong?!" the boys ran towards her and saw her pointed her hands up towards a portrait.  
"Mum---mum--- the eyes----" Anne cried, her voice sounded horrified.  
  
  
Shinichi, Heiji, Hakuba and Kaito looked up at the portrait all at them same time. They realised what the woman was crying about.  
  
  
The portrait of Lady Norferk when she was a little girl.   
Where the eyes should be white, it was red. Blood red.  
Her green eyes were gone, and a two lines of blood trickled down her lovely pale face.   
Her hollow black pupils staring straight at the boys. It looks as though she was crying blood, crying till she have no more tears left in her soul.   
  
Suddenly, a part of the song they heard from the little girl appeared in Heijis head again. That lovely, sweet voice.  
"In the corner of the darkest room  
Awaits your most horrid doom  
For once you can never tell  
If this is nightmare or its real."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To Be Continue----------------------------------------  
************************************************  
Hope you Conan fans enjoyed the fic so far! Remember to drop a review if you can! Thank you for reading!! 


	4. Tell Me About Ninja!

Chapter 4  
"Tell me about ninja!"  
  
  
  
"What the bloody hell----" cursed Richard. His face was pale from the shock.  
"Its mum! She came back to revenge!" cried Richard's sister, Anne. She was 3 years older than Richard and have lovely green eyes and brown hair, But now those eyes were filled with fear.  
  
  
"Get me a ladder." Said Hakuba to the servants, they heard the scream and rush towards the scene.   
"I am going to check this out, if that is OK with you, Richard?" asked Hakuba, looking at the painting above him.  
Richard nodded. "Some sick joke, it must be."   
  
  
"Why dont you just take the whole painting down?" asked Kaito, fascinated by the red blood.  
"We might destroy any evident if we do take down the painting," said Heiji. "I think it is just some simple trick-----"   
"Tricks eh?" grinned Kaito. "I am good at that, let me see-----"  
"Hey! Get your hands off the painting!" shouted Hakuba. "Dont touch anything!"  
"Why not? It is not yours! Dont boss me around!" answered Kaito. Then they started to fight again.  
  
  
"There is nothing behind the painting----" Said Kudou, examine the painting when Kaito and Hakuba were too busy arguing and didn't noticed the ladder was already here.   
"There are bits of the blood, scattered around the painting though----------"  
"I thought there might be a tube or some sort, but there isnt--- are those real blood?" asked Heiji, he then carefully touched the red liquid on the girls face and bring it close to his nose, examine the texture "Fake blood." He announced.  
"There is nothing on the wall either." Said Hakuba, already wearing his gloves and carefully touches the wall. He noticed Richard's face.   
Richard is scared, there was no doubt about that.  
  
  
"Hakuba--- this-this had happen before." Said Richard.   
"This whole place is cursed!" cried Anne, still looking horrified, a servant was holding her arm, so she could stands up.  
"It has?!" asked Hakuba. "On this exact painting? when? Tell me!"  
"I wasn't home when it happened! It happened on my mothers other painting. The servant cleaned it up and it didn't happen again until today------"  
"Look, there must be a logical explanation to this, dont believe in this cursed rubbish, ok? Someone put the fake blood there, and we will find out how."  
  
  
"Guys----- there is no holes on the eye of the painting." said Shinichi. He then look at Kaito. "So, Kaito, can you tell us how this trick is done in such a short space of time?"  
Kaito thinks for a while, staring at the portrait, which was now cleaned and the girls green eyes could be seen again. He shrugged. "I am not sure, but I got an idea." Kaito then grinned at each detective. "I will let you guys to figure it out."   
He looked thoughtfully at Anne, and let out a strange smile, no-one saw it but Anne herself.  
  
  
"Look---- can we just leave it?" asked Richard. "I-I dont want to be in this place anymore."  
"But you live here." Said Heiji.  
Hakuba just gave him an half-moon eyes for his remark.  
  
  
"Lets attend to our dinner." Said Anne, who was now a lot calmer but still pale.   
"I must apologies for my appalling behaviour, gentlemen. I was horrified and I am deeply embarrassed about the situation I put you into," She nodded at the boys and took a deep breath   
"It would be an honor if you can join us, and I shall apologies formally. Please, follow me."  
  
  
Richard grinned at his sister, then he saw the puzzled looks on the boys faces.  
"Stacey is into talking *like* a Lady, so bear with her."  
"Oh, and I thought there was something wrong with my ears" said Kaito sarcastically.   
  
*******************************************************  
  
At the dinner table, the boys met all Richard's family.  
There was Richard's two brothers and two sisters. The oldest was William, 22 years old. Anne, 21 years old. Tracey, 20 years old, then Henry, 19 years old.   
Sir Norferks two elder sisters were Alice, who married to John. Then Louise, who married to Mike.  
  
  
The boys sat down on the chairs and was trying hard to cram all those English names into their brains.  
After some friendly smiling competition, the dinner arrived.  
Then they started to eat the dinner, which, was all going very well till the servant bought a plate of cod on to the table.  
"Em--- Sorry, but I don't eat fish---" said Kaito, eyes turned into big circles.  
"Why is that, may I ask?" asked Tracey, "You dont like it?" She smiled sweetly at Kaito.  
"No I don't" said Kaito, then he noticed Hakuba was about to say something, quickly, he kicked Hakuba's legs under the table. Hakuba then glared at Kaito angrily.  
  
  
"Tell me about Japan." Said William, "I have always wanted to visit the place, their culture are truly fascinating." He was one handsome guy with mature smile on his face.   
"Well--- what would you like to know about?" asked Shinichi, he really wanted to discuss about Sir Norferk, but no-one on the table seems to be keen on the idea of even mentioning their father.  
  
  
"Tell me about Ninja!" said Henry excitedly, "Can they fly? Become invisible?"  
Of course, black lines appeared on people's head who were Japanese.  
"Dont be silly, Henry!" giggled Tracey "It is not nice to bug the visitors with strange question like this!"  
"Here, Hakuba! More beef?" asked aunt Louise, while putting more food into boys plate before they could say no. She certainly doesn't act like a member of a royal family.  
  
  
Kudou looked around the table and decided to talk to Alice and John.  
"So it must be hard work to keep the hotel in such a good condition?"   
John nodded and smiled "But we do our work and things are going smoothly. If you like, I can show you around the garden!" .Alice just looked at Shinichi blankly. Her face was cold and moody.  
"Not friendly." Thought Shinichi.  
  
  
"So-how long do you intend to stay here?" asked Tracey, she was just as pretty as her mother in the portrait, Kaito blushed when she smiled at him.   
"Well-until those boys sort out what they want and help Richard sort out what is going on in this weird place." Kaito replied  
  
  
Everyone went quiet, Kaito could hear the "Doh!" voice inside his brain.  
"Well, any help Hakuba and his friends can provide are welcome by us" Said William kindly.  
"Yes, William is right, let us know if we can assist you in anyway." Added Anne.   
  
  
"MORE MEAT!" shouted uncle Mike suddenly to the servant, he was one chubby man who always have food in his mouth.  
"Mike! Behave! We have guests here with us!" said aunt Louise, gently slapped her husbands arm.   
"Oh !I beg your pardon! Please forgive me rudeness." grinned uncle Mike to the boys, with food stuck between his teeth which the boys really didn't need to see. Hakuba noticed Richard was shaking his head embarrassingly.   
  
  
"More beef please?" asked Heiji, he looked hopefully at aunt Louise "They are so nice! there are nothing like this in Japan"  
Aunt Louise laughed her giggling laugh and hugged Heiji. "Oh! I do like this young man here!"  
Heiji just choked in surprise and watched everyone laughed at the table.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
The dinner was finished quickly and the boys stomach were bulging, they returned to their rooms, but Shinichi and Heiji seems to be very frustrated.   
"They wont tell us nothing!" shouted Heiji. "How are we suppose to investigate the case when none of them wants to talk! By the way, dinner was nice."  
"Well---" sighed Shinichi. "We will just have to investigate the whole thing on our own. I like William, he seems to be in control and reasonable. The whole family are interesting."   
Then he paused and look around "Where is Richard-------------and Hakuba?"   
Kaito answered the question. "I saw them walking towards the beach, I think Richard wants to tell Hakuba something."  
"What are we waiting for then?" asked Heiji "Lets go and catch up!" then he ran ahead with Kudou and Kaito following behind him.  
"Why do I get a feeling that you lot are very nosy?" asked Kaito to Heiji.  
"That is what you need to be a detective!" laughed Kudou. "But it is usually called curiosity!"  
  
  
  
To Be Continue----------------------------------- 


	5. We Will See About That!

Chapter 5  
"We will see about that!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"So are you going to tell me about the whole thing?" asked Hakuba to his friend while standing on the sandy beach. The cold wind blew through his blond hair and Richard's brown hair. They stared at the black sea for a while and Richard sighed.  
  
  
"The house is haunted, Hakuba. I know you will say I am talking gibberish, but so many weird things has happened. I hope you can find out who is doing it and why."  
Hakuba said nothing, he waited patiently till Richard was ready to continue.  
"As you know, my mother died when I was 11"  
"What? I thought she died 10 years ago? So your mother actually died 7 years ago?" asked Hakuba.  
"Yes--- didn't I tell you? Anyway, last month, weird things started to happen around the hotel. The servants, the cook, and maids have all been hearing someone crying at night. My sisters and brother heard footsteps and someone singing at midnight."  
  
  
Hakuba frowned. "It all sounds like a pretty standard ghost to me!"   
Richard looked at Hakuba. "But you saw it yourself ! The portrait was bleeding! How do you explain that?"  
"Richard, calm down OK? Let me ask you a few questions first and then you can ask me all you want."  
Said Hakuba while taking out his notebook and a pen.   
  
  
"First, what is the cause of your mothers death?"  
"I dont know. No one knows. She died suddenly. She spent 5 months in the hospital before she died" Said Richard sadly. "And no-one would tell me what was happening to her. The only thing I knew was that mother was no longer with me."  
  
  
"Second question. What sort of weird things have been happening?"  
"The sound of footsteps, bleeding portraits, crying voices, em--- I heard it once when I was in my room at night. It was really weird. It sounds like a little girl singing."  
"What was the song like?"   
"Something about the hotel. I remember two sentence : Every night when demons calls, it is time to give your dying soul. It was horrible." Richard's eyes went wide with fear.  
"What did you do?" asked Hakuba, he could sense a chill ran down his spin. Its really cold on the beach.  
"I got off the bed and wanted to know where the voice was coming from, but it stopped at soon as I open my door."  
  
  
"How old is your hotel?" asked Hakuba.  
"It is 258 years old."  
  
  
"Tell me about the family, are your family close together?"  
"Yes! We get along very well! Especially my brothers and I. There is only two people I can think of that seems to dislike each other---"  
"Which are---?"  
"Aunt Alice and Uncle John."  
"O----Kay--- Em, they are married, aren't they?"  
"Yes, but by the way things are going, I afraid they no longer have-erm-feelings for each other."  
Hakuba just shrugged and drew a star around the notes for this information.  
  
  
"How did your father died?" asked Hakuba carefully.  
"------ Well--- I found him on the beach-when I was talking a walk. He was drowned. He fell off the cliff and fell into the sea. The tide washed his body back-----"  
"And?"  
"The police think it was a suicide."  
"WHY?!"  
"The fact that my father have no enemy, it is impossible to say there is someone who will want to kill my father!" shouted Richard, he was so upset, and there were tears in his eyes.  
"Was there any reason for him to suicide?"  
Richard shook his head slowly, then he looked at Hakuba. "My father suffered from depression ever since my mother died. I think he just wanted to be with her again."  
Hakuba sighed, "I am sorry."  
  
  
"Did he left any notes or letters?" asked Hakuba again. After a short minutes of silent.  
"Yes--- he left a paper on his table, William got it. I can show it to you if you want."  
"Now your father have passed away, who will have the hotel and the business?" asked Hakuba.  
"William, he have the control over the main business, but my two aunts takes care of the cooks and cleaning etc. William cant do a much about those type of things. As for my fathers money, William decided to spilt it equally between all of us."  
  
  
"What about your uncles?"  
"They take care of the maintenance of the hotel. They help William a lot."  
  
  
"What makes you think that your mothers----- spirit comes back for revenge?" asked Hakuba again, writing down everything.  
"The portraits of my mother, one of them have blood written all over it. It says : You Will Pay With Your Life---- now my father is dead--"  
"When was that?" Hakuba decided to cut Richard off on that.  
"About 2 weeks ago."  
"Why didn't your family asked for further investigation?"  
Richard looked at Hakuba funnily "I called you didn't I? And you are a detective!"  
"Oh yeah------" blushed Hakuba. "And may I say you got the right person?"  
  
  
"Well---- I see that Anne is scared." Said Hakuba. "Anyone else is behaving like that?"  
"Yes, she is the one who heard all those strange noise at night. It was awful for her. I don't blame her for losing control and screaming--- but it was embarrassing---   
My family are quite annoyed with the situation, but they are all concentrating on the hotel business, the whole family is working hard for the hotel. I am very proud of every single one of them."  
  
  
"The diamond Pandora, does the family have any clue to where it is?"  
"No, our father didn't leave any clue for us to find the diamond. I afraid it will be impossible to find it because the hotel is so big----one other thing, no-one in the family have seen it except my parents"  
  
  
"Oh, we will see about that----" Said Kaito from behind them. He smiled confidently at Richard.  
Shinichi and Heiji was right next to Kaito.   
Shinichi looked at Kaito with disapproval when Kaito said what he said.  
  
  
"How long have you lot been here?!" asked Hakuba, surprised.   
"Long enough, so Richard, when can we see that paper your father left?" asked Heiji  
"No today. It is late. William is tired from the funeral." Said Richard. "Sorry if I sounded rude, but----"  
  
  
"Its OK." Said Hakuba. "we should go back anyway. Its getting late."  
  
***********************************************  
  
  
"Give me your note! You asked us to help, so you should let us know everything." said Heiji to Hakuba when they were in their room.  
"Fine, here you go." Said Hakuba, while grinning.  
"What the----" shouted Heiji, because it was all written in English. *Rough* handwritings.   
  
"Ok ok, I will tell you exactly what Richard said." Laughed Hakuba  
  
  
***********************************************  
  
"So, detective, find anything interesting yet?" asked Kaito to Kudou, staring at the high ceiling and lying in his bed. Kudou was sitting in his bed and scribble things down. The Hotel was quiet and most of the family were in bed already.  
  
  
"Yeah, how about you? Any clue to where the diamond is? KID?" replied Shinichi.  
"I am going to be honest and say that no, I dont have any clue yet." grinned Kaito.   
"Funny that I dont trust you on this, do you know who put the fake blood on the portrait?" asked Shinichi, he picked up his mobile phone and turned it on.  
But all he got was Kaito's mysterious smile.  
  
  
"Strange how the family behaving like nothing has happened, especially their father died not long ago. They all seems to be very happy." Said Kaito, changing the topic.  
"Something is not right." agreed Kudou.   
"I mean, Richard seems to be normal and all, and William. I like that guy. Hope he wont be too upset when Pandora is gone."   
  
  
Shinichi stopped pressing his phone and looked at Kaito. "Are you gona quit the KID business when you find the diamond?"  
"Yeah, I will. Otherwise who know what YOU will do?!" frowned Kaito.  
Shinichi grinned his grin and yawned. He then pressed the `send` button on his phone.   
"Well, we better rest and get some more information tomorrow!"  
The he turned off the light.  
The boys soon fall asleep with the sound of the waves washed up the beach through their open window.  
  
*************************************************  
  
"Hakuba! Wake up!" said Heiji quietly in the dark. "Get up !You lazy pig!"  
"Uh? What?" asked Hakuba, rubbing his eyes and saw Heiji put his finger on his mouth.  
"Shhhh, listen." Said Heiji.  
  
Hakuba sat up and listened. It was so dark in the room, the moonlight slipped through the curtains which slowly waved light in the air, the wind was seeping through the windows and gently blowing it.   
Dark, long shadows were cast from every furniture around the room, they looked like strange figures dancing silently in the room with the movement of the curtains.  
The distance sound of waves washed up the beach could be heard in this peaceful night.  
The pale, blue moon light provided little but enough light for the boys to see each other.  
Midnight, dark, silent, errie, and empty feelings surrounded the hotel.  
  
  
Singing voice.  
  
  
The voice echoed between the rooms, the sweet voice of a little girl.   
Hakuba froze and noticed Heiji was looking at him.   
In the dark, Hakuba could see Heiji's two blue eyes, which was filled with questions, disbelieve and, in that split second, more than anything else, Hakuba could felt that emotion himself .  
  
  
  
Fear.  
  
  
  
  
***************************************  
To Be continue-----------------------------------  
***************************************  
  
Reviews please~~~~~~~~~ thank you so much for reading!! 


	6. Just Jumped?

Chapter 6  
"Just jumped?"  
  
  
  
*Give me your pen and paper* whispered Shinichi to Kaito finally, after listening to the song for a while in the dark.  
*No, I will do it.* replied Kaito, the hair on his back stood up with the voice that came creeping into their ears.  
Kaito grabbed his pen and paper, and felt the tip of the pen writing on the paper.   
He was not sure how accurate he can write in the dark, but if he turn on the light, who ever is singing right now will know someone is awake.  
He listens to the errie voice, writing down every single words he could hear. The more he wrote, the more chilling feeling he got.  
  
  
In the other room, Heijis expression turned from amazed to annoyed. *Thats it, I am going to find out where that voice comes from.* muttered Heiji.  
Before Hakuba could stop him, Heiji jumped off the bed and opens the door.  
  
  
The voice stopped.  
  
  
"AHHHHHH!!!!" shouted Heiji in horror.  
  
  
"AHHHHHH!!!!" shouted Kaito in surprise.   
"What the heck are you doing? Suddenly open the door and shouting into my face like that?! You mad?!!!"   
"What !? What are you doing outside the room?! You look like a ghost with--with messy hair!"   
Shouted Heiji.  
  
  
"Will you two stop shouting?!" asked Shinichi behind Kaito, rubbing his ear. "So you heard the voice as well then?"  
"Yeah" nodded Hakuba. "Did you find out where the voice comes from?"  
"No, as soon as Heiji open the door, it stopped." Shinichi used his half moon eyes to looked at Heiji.  
"It was Kaitos fault! He made me jumped!" argued Heiji.  
"Just jumped?" grinned Kudou  
"I was trying to wake up you guys to listen to the voice." Explained Kaito.  
  
  
Suddenly the whole corridor lit up. The darkness disappeared completely. The boys stopped talking and turned around.  
  
Richard stood there and looked at the four boys. One finger on the light switch. His rooms was two doors away from Kudou and Kaito.  
  
  
"What is going on? All that shouting?!" asked Anne, she rushed down the stairs from third floor with Tracey.   
Except for Richard, the rest of the family sleep on the third floor.  
  
"Emmm--- nothing, Heiji thought he saw a rat." Explained Kaito, while grinning broadly.   
Heiji looked annoyed and embarrassed.  
"Yeah, and Kaito dreamed about a fish." Added Hakuba quietly.  
  
"Rats?! That is most unacceptable. I will get my uncles to catch those disgraceful creatures." Said Anne, watching Tracey winking at the blushing Kaito.   
"I must apologies, Mr.Heiji. If you wish to change a room-------"   
"What? Oh no, its ok." Mumbled Heiji quickly.  
"You are most kind, Mr Heiji." Smiled Anne. "Goodnight, gentleman."  
Then she pulled Tracey back to upstairs.  
  
  
"I think she likes you." Grinned Shinichi to Kaito.  
Kaito shrugged. "Dont they all?"  
"Richard?" asked Hakuba. "Whats wrong?" He noticed Richard was looking ill, a kind of "I think I am gona faint" ill.  
"I heard it too, Hakuba." Said Richard. "I heard it."  
The boys went quiet.   
"Dont think too much, Richard. Nothing will happen, OK?" comforted Hakuba to his friend. "Go to sleep and we will talk in the morning."   
Richard nodded awkwardly and went back to his room.  
  
"Is this how your mother talks to you?" mocked Kaito to Hakuba.  
"Get lost." Was the reply.  
  
"Geesh, this place is creepy!" Said Heiji, then quickly add "----- not that I am scare or anything."  
"Well, all I want is a good night sleep. See you guys in the morning." Yawned Shinichi "And we will find out about the voice tomorrow"  
The boys nodded and went back to their comfortable beds.   
But none of them slept.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
It was morning, the weather was foggy and every leaves, every flower was covered by drops of dew.  
The Moonlight hotel stood silently on top of the cliff and watched the sea from above. The sky was dark blue and purple, which adds to the gloomy atmosphere.  
Seagulls glide through the sky silently and its cries pierced through the damp cold air.  
Englands weather is very cold, until the sun rises. Even so, it doe not mean it will be a nice warm day.  
  
A black BMW drove silently through the misty frog and stopped outside the hotel.  
Four people stepped out of the car and stared at the Moonlight Hotel.  
The door bell rang as one of them press the bell and the servant answered it with surprise.  
  
Shinichi was sleeping soundly in his bed, it was only 6 in the morning and he haven't been able to sleep all night until an hour ago.  
(guess the singing voice was bothering him eh? ^_^)   
Kaito was much the same, He snored lightly with his mouth open. Which is something he usually do in the middle of the school class.   
The whole hotel was not awake to face the day yet. Quiet, peaceful, sleepy.  
  
Suddenly, the bed room door swung open.  
BAM!  
It banged against the wall loudly, Shinichi and Kaito both felt off the bed and hit their head.  
Two people stomp through the room and stood next to the boys.  
Kudou looked up, rubbing the bump on his head and saw the person standing in front of him.  
  
"KOUDO SHINICHI!" shouted Ran.  
  
"RAN????!!!" gasped Shinichi. "Wha-wah---what are you doing here?! How----when---&$*"^%"  
  
"KAITO KUROBA!" roared Aoko at the same time. "You have a lot of explaining to do!!!!"  
"What?" blinked Kaito. "This is a nightmare, it must be!" he mumbled.  
Aoko reached out and pinched his ear.   
"Ahhh!"  
"Does this feel like a dream to you?!"  
  
Shinichi was rubbing his head when he heard the argument broke out next door.  
"Kazuha?! What the hell are you doing here?! How did you know-----AH MY EAR!!!"  
  
"Ai, I mean, Shiho?!" gasped Hakuba, then he swallowed hard.   
"You are not going to pinch me too are you?"  
  
  
  
  
  
************************************************  
To Be Continue---------------------------------  
************************************************  
Mmmm====Guess I decided to add the girls in after all. I might need them to do some screaming later---- ^____^ *grin* 


	7. Good To See You!

Chapter 7  
Its good to see you  
  
  
The boys sat down at the breakfast table and stared at the girls. The food were on the table, but on-one had the intention of eating anything at this moment.  
Eight pairs of half-moon eyes just stared at each other for about a century long. There was an awkward silence between them.   
The tension was mounting, like football fans waiting anxiously for that penalty kick. (So when the football was captured by the goalkeeper, they can use all their angers on beating up the other teams supporters.)  
(this really goes for English football fans ^_^lllb)   
  
  
Richard and his families all gathered outside the breakfast room and kept on peeking through from the half close door, waiting for the drama to take place.  
"Look at those Japanese girls! They are so cute!" whispered Henry, then he got a slap on the head from Tracey. "Ow!"  
"Watch it boy, I think they are already taken for." Said Tracey, then she sighed. "Pity, I really like that boy with the messy hair"  
Henry made face at that comment.  
  
  
Finally, Shinichi opened his mouth.  
"How did you lot find us here? We only got here yesterday!"  
"It wasnt hard, you know." Said Shiho, decided to speak otherwise her lips might stuck together. "We traced the phone text messages you send to Ran."  
  
  
Heiji looked at Shinichi with the half moon eyes. "You what?"  
"Hey--- I do need to keep in contact with my fiancé you know!" muttered Shinichi, waving his hand at Heiji, showed him the silver engagement ring on his finger.  
Ran smiled, but then she remembers she was "suppose" to be mad at Shinichi, so she quickly adjust her expression to "Im very angry at you right now, Shinichi".  
  
  
"What did you tell her in the text? "Dear Ran; we are in England, please come and wake us up at 6 in the morning so we wont miss the breakfast?!" complained Kaito.  
"I asked my dad to trace the text for us, because we contacted each other and we realised you lot are ALL missing!" explained Aoko.  
"You are such a-a nosy girl!!" shouted Kaito.  
"What did you say?! Idiot!!"  
  
  
"You lot are really nosy. Cant believe you came all the way from Japan-----" Sighed Hakuba, emphasized on the word "nosy"  
"You havent write email to me for 3 weeks, Hakuba." Said Shiho suddenly.  
"I--- well---hey---are you worrying about me?!" asked Hakuba, surprised.  
"Well--- no--- not really----" replied Shiho coldly. But then she could see Hakuba was grinning at her.  
"I phoned up your father from Japan. He told us you are away to see one of your friend for several weeks with your other friends from Japan. We knew immediately that he meant you guys." Said Shiho to Hakuba.   
"Your father sent a taxi for us at the airport and the driver took us here."  
"But--- 6 in the morning?!"  
"Yes."  
"BUT 6 IN THE MORNING?!" shouted Hakuba. "I am going to kill my dad!"  
  
  
"Wow--- looks like you girls are good enough to be detectives---" muttered Heiji.  
"What are you doing here? And why didn't you tell me? You know how angry your mother is?" asked Kazuha, angry as well as annoyed. Just like Heijis big sister.^^  
"You guys are on holiday and wont let us know? That is just so moody!"  
  
  
"They thought you guys are going to have other girlfriends over here." Added Shiho, smiling.  
"Eh?!" The boys blinked their eyes.  
All the girls blushed and suddenly found their shoes very interesting by staring at it.  
  
  
"To be honest," said Shinichi. "You REALLY dont want to know what we are doing here."  
"Tell me, Shinichi." Said Ran, she reaches out and touch Kudous hand which was on the table.  
"Otherwise you know what I will do!" She added, her touch became a tight squeeze at the same time. Shinichi swallowed hard.  
  
  
"This place is haunted." Announced Kaito, then, just as the boys expected, all the girls face turned pale and eyes went wide. Only Shiho rolled her eyes as a common reaction when she hear what she consider as BS.  
"We are here to hunt down the ghost." Added Heiji, with an evil and mocking grin on his face.  
"You are?" asked Kazuha, unsure. "Since when are you the ghost busters?"  
  
  
"The point is, you are rude to rush into the hotel like this with out the permission." Said Hakuba, "Now I must apologies on your behalf to Richard and his family."  
Shiho stared and Hakuba. "Whats wrong with you?"  
Shinichi grinned. "A Royal talk thing"  
  
  
***************************************************  
  
  
"You had me worried, Shinichi. I thought something bad has happened to you, or - or you have turned into Conan again------" said Ran to Shinichi, while holding his hand.  
They were in the Garden of the hotel, walking around, admiring the scenery, hundreds different species of roses and having a nice "private" chat together.   
  
  
They all had their breakfast and soon the Norferk Family generously offered the girls to stay in the hotel with their boy / friends. (the girls wont admit the boys are their boyfriends except Ran).   
The girls room were on the third floor with the rest of the family.  
  
  
"Dont be silly, didn't I tell you everything is fine and dont worry about me in the text I sent you?" said Shinichi.  
"How can I know that for sure? you told me the same thing when you were Conan." frowned Ran.  
"I wont lie to you again, didn't I promised you that?"  
"Yeah-----I know." Blushed Ran, looking at Kudou.  
"I missed you." Whisper Shinichi as he stopped walking and kissed Ran on her rosy cheek.  
"Im really happy-to see you----." Said Shinichi as he puts his hand on Rans face.  
Both of them were blushing as they lean closer and closer to kiss on the lips.  
  
  
  
"HEY! LOVEBIRDS! OVER HERE!!!!!"   
  
  
  
"Not again!" groaned Shinichi under his breath and turned to see Hattori grinning at them, Kazuha was standing next to him, with her hands over Heijis mouth, obviously tried to stop him from shouting with out any success.   
  
  
"WHAT!!!??" shouted Shinichi, annoyed. One hand still holding onto Rans hand.  
"You wana take a walk round the beach?"  
Shinichi gritted his teeth. *He called me for this?! And now we are Lovebirds??!*  
  
  
"Come on! Shinichi, lets go with them." Smiled Ran, not at all annoyed.  
Shinichi sighed and walked reluctantly towards the person who destroyed his *romantic* moment.  
"Yeah, Shinichi darling, come on!" grinned Heiji.  
"THATS IT! BA KA YA LO U!!" roared Shinichi and he started to chased Heiji.  
Heiji laughed and legged it before Shinichi could get close enough and kick away his cheeky attitude.  
  
  
***************************************************  
  
  
The four teenagers arrived on the top of the cliff. Below them, there was at least 150 meters of sheer drop.  
The cliff is practically vertical, and at the bottom of the cliff is the sandy beach which extended into the dark blue sea.  
The weather was sunny and warm, which is really unusual for England!  
  
"So---suicide or not?" asked Heiji to Kudou, both of them were standing there, hands in their pockets, looking down at cliff. Ran and Kazuha were busy picking different wild flowers to take back to Japan and having some girlie chit chat.  
  
  
"I got the police report of Sir Norferks death from Hakuba, it came in this morning by fax" said Shinichi.  
"It says that he jumped off the cliff, hit the sea and drowned. The time of death is around 7pm~10pm. Cant be accurate because of the condition the body was in."  
"You got a problem with that?"   
"Yes."  
""How did the body hit the water exactly?"" Said Shinichi and Heiji at the same time.  
  
  
"Below the cliff are the sandy beach, so how did he get into the sea?"  
"Of course, unless at the time of his death, there was-"  
"" rising tide"" said both of them, again, at the same time.  
  
  
"Maybe the tide was rising back into the beach at the time of his death. Some area of the beach dont extend very long before it reaches the sea, if that is the case, then-----"  
"The Police just treat it as a suicide, so they couldn't be bothered to investigate it any further--- how pathetic?!"  
Said Heiji in disgust.  
"Anyway, I have seen enough here--- I got a feeling Sir Norferk was murdered." Said Kudou.  
"What did Hakuba think?" asked Heiji  
"He wont talk much, I guess he is busy talking to Shiho." Grinned Shinichi.  
  
  
***************************************************  
  
  
"Em--- so-how are you?" asked Hakuba to Shiho, who was in the garden of the hotel, feeding wild birds with Tracey.  
Standing on Shiho`s hands, was a cute little Robin, they are the most friendly bird in England.   
Then red squirrels dashed behind the trees when Hakuba walked up to the girls. Blue tits, Grey tits and even chaffinches were unafraid and hopping around, waiting to be fed.  
  
  
"Oh, I will leave you two to it." Giggled Tracey, putting the seeds down and winked at Shiho.  
Shiho just smiled, then concentrate on the Robin who was on her hand, eating the seeds in her palm.  
  
  
Hakuba waited till Tracey disappeared behind the bushes, and he sat down.  
"I am fine, and you?" said Shiho flatly, watching the Robin flew away with a full stomach.  
"You haven't change a bit." Smiled Hakuba.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You are still cold and unfriendly."  
"Thank you."  
"That wasn't a compliment."  
"I know."  
  
  
"--------- It is nice to see you." Said Hakuba, looking at Shihos pale, unemotional face.  
Shiho blinked, she then frowned. "Who are these people?"  
"Who?"  
"Those girls, are they your friends too?"  
"Tracey and Anne?"  
"Who else? I wanst talking about the two old woman, was I ?!" Said Shiho annoyingly.   
"Tracy is my girlfriend."  
  
  
Then Hakuba watched Shiho`s face turning into a funny colour. She stood up, looking down at Hakuba with disbelieve, and turned around, starting to walk away.  
  
"Hey hey hey! I was joking!" Said Hakuba quickly, jumped to his feet, he grabbed Shiho`s arm.  
Shiho turned around and watched Hakuba burst out laughing.  
  
  
"Is was a joke! Your face turned green!"  
"Whos face turned green!?" shouted Shiho, angry, of course.  
"Yours! But I am glad to see your face changing colour, because-" said Hakuba, leaning closer to Shiho. Pulling Shiho closer to his face.  
"It-Means-You-Are-Jealous!"   
  
  
Shiho blinked, before she could figure out what to say, Shinichi appeared in the distance, calling Hakuba.  
"Hakuba, we need to talk!!!" shouted Kudou.  
  
  
"O-K!" replied Hakuba, then he turned around and grinned at Shiho.  
"Like I said, its good to see you." Then he lean forward, suddenly gave Shiho a kiss on her rosy cheek.  
Shiho stood there, stared at Hakuba.  
He smiled again, gave her a wink and walked away to join Shinichi.  
  
  
Shiho watched the back of Hakuba disappeared with Kudou behind the bushes.  
She slowly puts her hand on her cheek, where Hakuba kissed and realised she was blushing.  
Robin and red squirrels had came back, they hop around and looked hopefully at the red-hair girl for more food.  
  
  
  
----------------The red hair girl smiled.  
  
  
  
*************************************  
To Be Continue--------------  
*************************************  
  
  
Mmmm-------I think Shiho and Hakuba are made for each other, dont you guys think? ^_^   
Comments Please~~~~~~~ thank you for reading !!! =^0^=  
  
  
Catz 


	8. Its all L

Hello Conan Fans!!  
Its chapter 8 now! This is a slightly longer chapter too, hope you will enjoy it! =^0^=  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 8  
"Its all L"  
  
  
  
"Here is the letter which my father left on his table the day he-died. I am not sure if it is anything important." Said William, handing a piece of paper to Hakuba.  
He was not looking well, his handsome face was pale and weary.  
Richard glanced at his brother, but said nothing.  
All the boys (except Kaito) were in Williams study room, wanting to get more information about the family.  
  
  
"You might noticed that all the servant and cooks are gone, due to that singing voice at night-it scares them. I cant keep them here when they refuse to stay."   
Sighed William "I hope you can help us to put a stop to this none-sense"  
  
Hakuba nodded. "We will"  
Heiji and Shinichi both stood closer to Hakuba to get a closer look at the paper:  
  
  
  
L.M1.M2.E1  
M1 *6**7*  
L *2* *4-F---*   
M2 *1* *5*  
E1  
---Wife   
  
  
  
"Now, thats interesting." Said Hakuba.  
Shinichi and Heiji both have a huge smile on their face.  
"May I make a copy of this paper please?" asked Hakuba.  
William nodded.   
"Are you Ok?" asked Richard to William.  
"Pardon? Oh, yes, dont worry-----" answered William.   
"Hakuba--- your father is a policeman, is that correct?"   
"---------Yeah, something like that----- why?"  
"Can you give me a number to contact him?"  
"Is there any thing I can help you with?" frowned Hakuba, he doesn't like the way William was talking. Something was not right.  
  
  
  
"Well-----" frowned William, he seems to be thinking hard, trying to decide something very important. Finally, he made up his mind.  
"Yes, it is best if I talk to you about it. After all, you and your friends are here to help us. I should have told you earlier.   
You must understand what I am about to tell you is very personal. It involved a very strange yet true story about my family. I trust you people can keep it as quiet as possible?"  
  
  
All the boys nodded, Richard looks surprised and puzzled.  
William finally decided to continue. "You see, my mother--"  
William suddenly stopped when a person walked into his room.  
  
  
It was aunt Alice.  
  
She glared at everyone in the room slowly, then she said "Am I interrupting something?"  
Everyone looked at William, whose face just turned into a very nasty colour.  
"No, what is it?"   
"May I ask you gentleman to step outside for a while? I need to discuss something with my dear William." Said aunt Alice coldly. Richard pulled a face when she used the word "dear".  
  
  
All the boys got hushed outside of the room and the door was shut behind them.  
"I have just about enough with those English ways of being polite" complained Heiji.   
"I feel like living in the 18th century! How do you do it Hakuba?"  
Hakuba shrugged. "you get used to it-one day. What do you think he wants to talk to us about? Richard?"  
  
  
Richard shook his head. "I dont know."  
"Here." Said Hakuba. Passing the paper to Shinichi. It was the paper with the strange writings.  
"Lets see who can solve the code first!" announced Heiji excitingly, Shinichi grinned. All of them are very competitive, and all of them wants to out smart each other, really. ^_^  
  
  
"Anyone seen Kaito?" asked Aoko, walking towards the boys with Ran, Kazuha and Ai. They just came back from the beach.  
"I cant find that idiot any where!"  
  
  
"Who are you calling an idiot?" muttered Kaito as he appeared at the end of the corridor, walking casually with a paper in his hand, but something else was clearly on his mind. "L---L---L----Its all L."  
Hakuba raised his eye brows. "L?"  
"L" confirmed Kaito.  
"What about it?"  
"Its all L"  
"Whats all L?"  
"L, its the letter."  
"Is it me or are we having a communication problem here?" asked Hakuba.  
"Normally I would say its you, but even I dunno whats he on about." Grinned Kudou.  
"See if for yourself, detectives" Said Kaito, shown the paper to everyone.  
  
  
  
"-------------------------------------- spell  
Looks like heaven but it could ---hell  
Every night when the demon ---  
Its time to give ----- dying soul  
In the corner --------------------  
------- your most horrid ---------  
There is no way out of this (place?)  
You will vanish--------------------  
For once you can never tell  
If this is a nightmare or its real"  
  
  
  
"That was the song we heard last night, I wrote it down, but again, I couldn't hear the song clear enough to be sure those are the exact words." Said Kaito.  
"Hey, this is the same song the girl sang" said Heiji.  
"What girl?" asked Richard  
"Its "time to give YOUR dying soul"" added Hakuba.  
"It was PLACE all right, but I am not sure about the next sentence"  
"There seems to be a hidden message in this song, but we dont have enough information at the moment"  
"Anyone know the exact time when the song started?"  
"Richard, have you heard this song before?"  
"We should split up and investigate----"  
"You are right, Kaito, its all L------"  
  
  
The boys were so into their heated discussions, they didn't noticed the girls were standing there with bored expressions on their faces.  
"Lets split up!" said Kudou, and before the girls had the chance to open their mouths and suggest they wanted to come too, the boys gave Kaito a quick glance.   
Kaito took out a little ball, threw it hard on the floor and with a loud Bang, smokes appeared.  
  
  
The girls coughed and shouted, but, of course, the boys all dashed away before the smokes were cleared.  
They were all gone. It was pretty clear that they dont want the girls to follow them around!  
  
  
Kazuha shrugged. "Anyone interested in shopping? Who needs them when we are together?"   
"Yeah, lets go and buy some clothes." Agreed Aoko.  
The fact was, all the girl knows that they cant stop the boys from investigating anyway. ^^  
  
  
Just when the girls were about to leave, the door of William's room swung open and followed with an angry shout  
"LEAVE!!!"   
It was William's voice.  
Aunt Alice stepped out of the room with rage. "YOU CANT STOP ME!!!!" she screamed, and stormed down the other corridor, with out realizing the girls were there.  
  
  
The girls looked at each other with utter amazement, and Ran decided to have a check at William.  
They walked into William's room and saw him standing there, hands on the table, face down and panting heavily. He looked up and saw the girls standing there, looking at him.  
  
  
"Can I help you ladies?" he asked, after taking a deep breath and tries to calm himself.  
"Are--- are --- you---OK?" asked Kazuha, trying to say English.  
"We--- hear--- shouts." Added Aoko, who was not so good with English, but she was trying her best.^^  
William blinked, and he smiled.   
His smile makes the girls blush, after all, he is not-at-all-bad-looking  
"Is there anything we can help you with?" asked Shiho, she could speak perfect English (with America accent) ^_^  
  
  
William shook his head. "I am sorry about that disturbance, but thank you, I appreciate your concerns."  
Just then, Henry and Richard walked in.   
"Hakuba gave me the order of keeping you girls occupied." Grinned Richard.  
"Hello girls!" said Henry with a bright smile on his face. "Want to come to town with us? We can show you girls some really good shops to buy clothes! After that we can have some afternoon tea and home made sponge cakes and scones!"  
  
  
Shiho translated that into Japanese.  
  
Then all the girls agreed happily.  
  
  
"Coming William?" asked Richard to his brother.  
William nodded. "I need some fresh air." He then look at Henry. "Whats he up to? He hates shopping."  
Richard grinned. "He thinks those girls are cute, you know what he like."  
William smiled. "They sure are, what's the word--- kawani?"  
"I do hope Henry realised his chance are very slim. By the way, its kawai." replied Richard.  
  
  
**************************************************  
  
It was 6 O'clock in the afternoon, and girls stepped into the hotel with laughter and tons of shopping bags.  
Henry, Richard and William were all chatting happily with the girls (while carrying the shopping bags, because they are *gentleman*), they seems to be getting on *really* well.  
  
  
During the shopping trip, Henry tried several times to put his arm around Rans shoulder, but Rans *death* glare makes it clear that unless Henry have a death wish, dont even try.  
So Henry started to chat to Aoko.  
"So, Aoko, do you have a boyfriend?" asked Henry when they carried the shopping bags into the girls room.  
"Boyfriend?"  
"You know, someone close, someone you love, someone you go out with."  
"Oh, I go out with Kaito"   
"Kaito is your boyfriend?"  
"No"  
"But you go out with him"  
"Yes"  
"Do you love Kaito?"  
"NO!" blushed Aoko.  
"-----------" Henry stood there for a few seconds, looking confusingly at Aoko. "You are best friends?"  
"Best Friend? Not really---he annoying"  
  
"-------"   
After a long pause.  
"Do you like watching movies?" asked Henry finally.  
  
****************************************************  
  
"Here is the book, I am sure you will enjoy reading it. What do you think of our country, Miss Shiho?" asked William to Shiho in his study room, they had some great conversation on animals when they went shopping together.   
William handed her the book.  
  
  
"Its beautiful, but I still prefer Japan." Replied Shiho. "So you say you can take us horse riding?"  
"Yes, how about tomorrow?"   
Shiho nodded.  
"May I ask you a personal question?" smiled William. "How long have you been going out with Hakuba?"  
"We are not going out."  
The smile on William's face got even wider   
"Thats interesting, so you wont mind if I ask you to joining me for dinner in an Italian restaurant tomorrow?"  
Shiho blinked, and she smiled "Thank you, but no, I would like to stay with my friends."  
  
  
William nodded courtly. "Of course, sorry I asked so rudely. It is perfectly understandable."   
"I shall see you tomorrow, Miss Shiho. Goodnight, have a pleasant dream." Then he opens the door and let Shiho walked out. He even did a little bow when Shiho walks passed him.  
  
When the door closed behind Shiho, "WHY did I refused?" she muttered under her breathe. Regretting it just that *tiny* bit.  
  
  
***************************************************  
  
Kazuha and Ran was sitting in the large living room, chatting with Richard.  
"You Japanese have the smallest hands I have ever seen" said Richard.  
"Really?" laughed Kazuha. "English have big hands!"  
"Here, I will show you." Said Richard, he took Kazuhas hand compared it by pressing his and her hands together.  
"See?" smiled Richard.  
Kazuha blushed.  
"You have very pretty eyes" said Richard to Kazuha when he looked straight into her eyes.  
  
  
"OI!!!!"   
  
  
An shout came across the room. Heiji was standing there with half-moon eyes, angry cross and gritted teeth. Shinichi was right behind him, looking amused by Heijis reaction.  
  
"Where have you been?" asked Heiji angrily to Kazuha.   
"We looked all over the place, tried to find you girls!" he glared at Richard, who let go of Kazuhas hand.   
Heiji then marched straight up to them and sat down heavily on the sofa between Richard and Kazuha.  
  
  
"We went shopping together, what's it got to do with you? You wouldn't have come with us anyway!" replied Kazuha annoyingly.  
"-So? I still have the right to know!"  
"You are too busy with your stupid ghost-hunting! You could have find us with your so call `detective` skills since you are a detective!! And-"  
  
  
"Shinichi!" said Ran, standing up quickly to stop Heiji and Kazuha break into another argument.  
Shinichi gave Ran a hug and looked at her. "You went shopping?"   
"Yeah! and I bought you some Scottish shortbread, I think you will like them! How is the investigation going?"  
"Good, we got more clues."  
  
  
"Look at you two, just like a married couple. When is the wedding?" Added Kaito when he walked into the living room, Hakuba was behind him.  
"Where is Shiho and Aoko?" asked Hakuba.  
"I think they are with Henry and William." Replied Ran.  
Kaito and Hakuba looked at each other and without saying anymore, both dashed upstairs.  
"They sure are in a hurry!" said Kazuha.  
"Yeah," muttered Heiji. "So their wives wont get snatch away by other people."  
  
  
**************************************************  
  
  
"Aoko, what was Henry doing in your room?" asked Kaito when he found Aoko was sorting out the shopping bags in her room.   
"He asked me to go out and watch a film with him-I think."   
"WHAT?!" shouted Kaito, then realised he was too loud. "What did you say?!"  
"I said Yes, of course!"  
"Of course you will say no-You-Yes? WHHHHHY!??"  
"Why not?!"  
Kaito looked frustrated. "He----Baka---I---I want to come too!"  
Aokos eyes went wide. "No-way! You will just be very annoying and do your stupid magic tricks."  
"No-I-wont." Replied Kaito. *I will just push him down the stairs and make sure he lands on his face!*  
  
  
Aoko thinks for a while.   
"Well--- If--- if you will come out with me to the cinema when we go back to Japan, then---- then I will tell Henry that I dont want to go to the cinema with him.   
I rather go with you---because---you know---you are----erm---"   
She was blushing and staring at her feet when she said all this, and at the end she was mumbling.  
  
  
Following Aokos face expression, Kaito went red too.   
"Well---fine----- I will go with you---because--- you know---- I dont like that guy----its a deal." He smiled.  
Aoko looked up at Kaito, a happy smile came onto her face too. She nodded.  
  
  
Then Kaito walked out of the room. "Goodnight, Aoko." He said happily.  
"Goodnight" said Aoko, smiling. "See you tomorrow!"  
  
  
**********************************************************  
  
Everyone went to bed, it is 11 0clock at night, and the girls were all sleeping deeply. (hey, shopping can be very tiring for girls too! ^^)  
  
Heiji and Hakuba were in their room, and Heiji was in a very bad mood because of that *little* argument with Kazuha.  
"Kazuha is so stupid-she thinks I will know where she is-that nosy girl- holding hand with that English freak- your have pretty eyes my butt-  
her eyes is none of your business-why does woman needs so many clothes-whats so fun about shopping-she doesnt know a thing about detective work-Kudou, I am not taking Kazuha to your wedding-"  
"Heiji?" said Hakuba, pulling his fingers out of his ears.  
"What?"  
"Shut your mouth or I will shut it for you."  
"oh"  
"You are jealous, arent you?! You have been mumbling none stop."  
"Who is jealous-why should I be jealous-it is their business-I dont give a-"  
"HEIJI!! SHUT UPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
***********************************  
  
When the big grandfather clock struck at half pass eleven on the corridor, the boys switched off the light and waited patiently for that voice.   
  
But instead, they got something else.  
  
It was dark, it was quiet in the whole hotel. The long corridors seems to be endless.   
A shadow suddenly appeared, it walked silently into one of the room, and closed the door with out any noise.  
  
Ran and Kazuha were sleeping like babies, so comfortably in their warm bed.  
It was dark in the room, only moonlight slipped through the window and highlight the lines of furniture in the room.  
Then, all of the sudden, the door swung open in their room, it banged against the wall loudly.  
  
Ran opened her eyes and sat up to look around. Kazuha opened her eyes too, and she heard some noise.  
  
A groan, gasping for air, unsteady steps.  
A figure stumbled towards Kazuhas bed. Its hand reaching out to Kazuha.  
Kazuha gasped as the dark shadow suddenly felt on top of her.  
She felt the weight of the person landing on her legs, she opened her mouth as the same time as Ran.  
  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!""  
  
They screamed, screamed and screamed, when they saw the figure was covered with blood, a shining object was sticking out on the back of the figure.   
  
Kazuha couldn't scream any more when she recognised the bloody face of the person, fear and shock took over herself control.  
The pale moonlight revealed the handsome yet twisted face, the dark hair and the helpless expression. The wide open mouth which was filled with blood.   
The white bed sheet on Kazuha was now covered with red dripping liquid.  
  
Kazuha couldn't stop screaming. Couldn't moved. Couldn't think.  
All Kazuha could hear was Rans cry and all Kazuha could see was his eye, the dying eyes of William.  
  
  
*************************************  
To Be Continue----------------------  
*************************************  
So, what do you guys think? ^_^   
Just a little warning though, this Ficcie is going to get more and more bloody, so please beware-------but hey, I am sure us Conan fans are pretty used to the bloody scene now! (LOL)  
Comments please~~~~thank you for reading!!   
  
Catz 


	9. I will find a fortune!

Chapter 9   
"I will find a fortune!"   
  
  
  
Shinichi were lying in his bed, thinking about the weird Norferk family when he suddenly got this uneasy feeling emerged deep within him. He sat up, frowning, he didn't really know why.   
He listened. Listened hard.   
Kaito was quietly humming to himself, "Now~~which mooooovie shall I waaaatch with Aoko~~la la~~"   
  
  
Kudou rolled his eyes and told Kaito to be quiet.   
Kaito shrugged and stopped humming to himself.   
Then he heard the faint sound. Scream. From a distance. Upstairs.   
"RAN!"   
Kudou immediately jumped off his bed, open the door and rushed out.   
As soon as Kudou opened the door, the scream could be heard more clearly.   
  
  
"What the hell---?!" said Kaito, he too, jumped off the bed and ran behind Kudou.   
Together, the two of them crashed into Heiji and Hakuba.   
"Ouch!!"   
"Where the hell are you going??!!" shouted Heiji   
"It's that way, idiots!" shouted Kudou. Pointing at the direction of the girls room.   
"Oh."   
  
  
Then they heard more screams, which is caused by—   
"AOKO!!" said Kaito, then the boys all ran as fast as they could in the dark corridor. For the first time they didn't take any noticed of those huge paintings with creepy eyes, which were staring at them coldly.   
  
  
Aoko stood outside Rans room, looking at William on Kazuhas bed, mouth opened. One hand on the light switch.   
Aoko and Shiho heard the scream, and since they are just next door, they didnt wasted a second to jump into Ran and Kazuhas room to investigate.   
  
  
Shiho is right behind Aoko, her face went white when she saw William.   
Her calm nature disappeared as she rushed towards William and saw the knife on his back.   
"William!!" She shouted. "Call an ambulance! Police! Aoko, stop screaming! You too Kazuha!!!"   
  
  
The light in the hotel lit up one by one, and the boys could see where they are going more clearly.   
Finally, they saw Ran and Kazuhas room, they heard the distressed voices coming out of the room.   
"Damn------" said Kaito when he and the boys stepped into the bedroom and saw what happened.   
  
  
He grabbed Aokos shoulder when he realised she was shaking. She had never seen such a horrific scene before compare to other girls, and of course, this shocked her deeply.   
"I am here Aoko, don't worry------" said Kaito.   
Aoko burst into tears.   
  
  
"Ahh—ahh—ahh—" Kazuhas cried, mouth open, eyes wide. Still sitting in her bed. Who wouldnt be when they are in the middle of their sleep and a person felt on top of you with blood all over his body?   
  
  
  
Heiji pushed pass Kaito and Aoko, reached out his arms and got Kazuha out of the bloody bed. He hugged Kazuha.   
"Shh---shh--- it's ok, Kazuha, it's ok-----calm down----Im here." comforted Heiji.   
Kazuha hugged Heiji tightly and she too, burst into tears and sobbed.   
  
  
Shinichi looked at Ran, her face was pale and of course, there were tears in her eyes too.   
Before Kudou could open his mouth, Ran answered the question. "Im OK, Shinichi, dont worry."   
Shinichi nodded, but never the less, he still walked up to Ran and kiss her gently on her cheek as a "I am here now, and I love you" sort of comforting kiss.   
  
  
"WILLIAM!!!" screamed Tracey. The whole family was now outside the room, and without making more noise, Anne fainted and collapsed into Henry.   
"What is going on? What---Ohhhhhhhhhhhh" whimpered aunt Alice when she saw William.   
Just like a domino game, the girls fainted one by one. Uncle John decided to join as well, so uncle Mike had to grab him quickly, which left Richard and Henry busy catching their fainting sisters and aunts.   
  
Kaito looked at them, and then looked at Aoko. "At least you lot are not as bad."   
  
  
  
*****************************************************************   
  
  
"Is he going to be OK?" asked Shiho in the phone.   
"I dont know, the doctor says he--- there is a great possibility that he---he won't make it." Replied Henry with the shaky voice.   
"I will keep in touch." Said Shiho darkly and she put down the phone.   
  
  
The ambulance came and took William away, Henry and Anne went with the ambulance.   
It was too hours ago when William collapsed on Kazuhas bed. The hotel was now full of police. Outside the hotel parked several police cars and a helicopter.   
  
  
Everyone was sitting in the large living room. The huge black sofas were arranged in a circle pattern, so everyone was facing each other. In front of the sofas were the huge fire place which was burning brightly.   
But no matter how hot it was, it could not warm up the chilling feeling that was inside everyone.   
  
  
Several huge portraits were hanging on the red wall all around the room. On either side of the room were book shelves with thick books that guarantees to make you fall asleep by reading the first page.   
Red carpet and gold decorations were the main colour scheme in this hotel, but right now, red wasn't really everyone's cup of tea.   
  
  
The big grandfather clock was ticking away in the corner, reminding the group how long they had been sitting there in silence.   
  
  
Shinichi, Heiji and Hakuba kept on pacing up and down the room, looking extremely serious and lost in their thoughts.   
Kaito was sitting there in silence, arms crossed and his eyes closed. Thinking. Aoko had never seen him so serious before.   
  
  
Ran, Kazuha, Aoko and Shiho were sitting closely together, looking at the rest of the family. Tracey was still crying silently, Richard put his arm around his sister but he have the greenest face in the whole room.   
Aunt Louise however, was making a lot of noise.   
"*sob* who would—how can *sob* anyone do this *sob* to our dear William?! *Boo-hoo*"   
Mike kept on telling his wife to calm down without any success.   
  
  
Aunt Alice sat there in silence, Hakuba looked at her several times and every time, she was avoiding the eye contact.   
John was sitting a meter away from his wife, there was great sadness and anger in his eyes. The muscle on his face kept on twitching for some reason. He held his fist tightly the whole time.   
  
  
Everyone was quiet and, at the same time, they all have the same thought in their mind— maybe one of them tried to kill William.   
Finally, after what felt like a century long, the doors opened, and followed by the sound of footsteps walking on the thick carpet, a chubby but serious man walked in with three policemen. He was wearing the black suit. Tall, middle aged and looked like he just got dragged out of his bed in the middle of his precious sleep.   
  
  
He looked at everyone with a soul piercing glare, it made you feel so tiny and useless—and guilty for something you didn't do.   
  
  
"We need to know where you were, and what you were doing when William was stabbed." Said the man.   
"We were all asleep!!" cried Tracey, "What more do you want?!"   
"William's room is a mess, and several items were missing, isn't that a proof to say that there were robbers?" asked Mike.   
"That along is not good enough I'm afraid. We are trying to find finger prints at the moment."   
  
  
"There is no finger prints." Said Kudou suddenly. "This is planned, so the murderer won't be that stupid to leave the finger prints for us to find. They is no finger prints on the knife either."   
"Someone in this house tried to kill William." Added Heiji. "He or she was trying to make it look like a robbery. All the missing items were not valuable."   
  
  
"Now, why would a robber come into the house, take something worth only £200, like a Mont Blanc pen?" asked Hakuba. He looked more than pissed. "William struggled from HIS room to Kazuhas room— you can tell because he was bleeding all the way—he didn't even went to his study room, this mean that the killer—murderer, messed up his study room, then went to his bedroom and stabbed him. The missing items is still  
in the hotel, I am sure of it."   
"Try the pond in the garden." Added Kaito suddenly.   
The chubby man nodded and told one of the policemen to organise a search in the pond.   
  
  
"But— why didn't the killer—kill him?" asked Richard.   
"Because he or she thought that William was dead." Said Kudou.   
"Or maybe something made the murderer stop and he\she have to get away quickly." Said Heiji.   
  
  
"There were no sign of struggling." Added the chubby man. "Except Miss Toyama and Miss Mouri, all of you are suspects of attempting murder. Hakuba?"   
Hakuba looked up at the chubby man. "Yeah?"   
"This includes you too, Im afraid."   
Hakuba nodded. "Yes, dad, I know."   
  
  
"DAD???!!!" shouted everyone, except Kaito, who just shrugged.   
Hakubas father ignored the reaction and said "I will put more of my men around and the hotel and keep all of you under police surveillance, there is not enough rooms to put all of you in the jail yet." He added.   
"DAD!" shouted Hakuba. "At least you can be more sensitive!"   
  
  
  
*****************************************************************************   
  
  
  
Everyone went back to their room with no intention of getting more sleep. Shinichi, Heiji and Kaito was correct. All the missing items from William's room were found in the pond. This proved only one thing. The murderer's intention was to kill William from the beginning. There were no robber.   
  
  
  
Hakuba decided to talk to Richard more when his dad called him.   
Hakuba walked up to his father. "Yeah?"   
"Hakuba, all I want to know is this. Can you handle it?" asked his father "Are you OK?"   
Hakuba nodded his head firmly. "YES."   
"I will find the killer, dad, I know I can. Plus, all my other good friends are here. Together, we can solve this crime."   
Hakubas father looked pleased. "Then, I am going to leave it to you. I know you are a sensible boy"   
"Are you leaving?"   
"Yeah, your mother won't be pleased to know I left you here with another murder crime to solve---"   
Hakuba grinned.   
  
  
When Hakubas father was walking out of the hotel, Hakuba called him. "DAD?!"   
The chubby man turned around.   
"Thanks---- for coming, I know this is not your area. You should be in London."   
"Be careful." Said the father. "I don't want to see you come back home with more bullets in you than in a machine gun. Or turned into a small boy like last time."   
Hakuba smiled.   
"So, that pretty red hair Japanese girl is your girlfriend then? You have an excellent taste, just like your dad!"   
The smile was replaced by embarrassment. "Bye dad. Don't call me, I will call you."   
  
  
  
Hakubas father laughed and gave his son a heavy pat on the back. "My little boy is embarrassed!"   
"BYE DAD!!" shouted Hakuba.   
  
  
  
Hakuba watched his father get into the helicopter from the front entrance of the hotel. Finally, he closed the door and sighed.   
"It is 3 O`clock in the morning----" He said after looking at his pocket watch. He felt really tired. He rubbed his eye wearily.  
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned and saw Richard.   
  
"Who is it?" asked Richard. "Who killed my father and stabbed William?"   
"Richard--- I don't know. Not yet."   
"You are supposed to help me!" shouted Richard, losing control "I thought I could trust you, and now William is dying, what are you—"   
"Richard, shut up!" said Tracey suddenly, walking down from the stairs. "This is not Hakubas fault, and now you are blaming him? He is here to help!"   
"Exactly, and what did he helped? NOTHING!"   
"Oh you can be so childish, listen to yourself! This is our problem, not Hakubas!"   
"Oh piss off, Tracey!" roared Richard.   
Tracey looked stunned. "I beg-beg your pardon?!"   
  
  
  
Richard shrugged, face red, he ran upstairs and Hakuba could hear the door slam shut from Richards room.   
Hakuba stood there awkwardly. Tracey sighed and wiped off the tears in her eyes.   
"I am so sorry, Hakuba, Richard is the youngest in the family, sometimes he can be so unreasonable. The lost of our father have   
hurt him deeply. Now knowing that one of us is the murderer, it's just too much for him."   
"I know. I dont blame him. He is right, I was here to help."   
Tracey nodded. "You can stay here as long as you and your friends wish. But please, find out who is doing this to the family, and why."   
  
  
  
  
*****************************************************************************   
  
  
  
"It all started with Lady Norferk." Said Kudou to Heiji and Kaito.   
The boys were in Heiji's room, and the girls were all next door, because they were too afraid to be away from the boys. Of course, Tracey was   
with them.   
Richard was in his own with his bad mood.   
6 policemen had been sent to stay close with the rest of the family, they kept on yawning and seemed to be spooked by the huge paintings on the wall. (the eyes~~~ it follows you~~~)   
  
  
  
Hakuba stumped into the room, Kudou, Heiji and Kaito looked up at him. "Hey-- are you all right---"   
Hakuba slammed his fist into the wall with anger, and caused a loud noise.   
"Maybe not." Said Kaito quietly.   
"Hey hey hey, you are going to break the bones in your hand if you do that agai—." Said Heiji.   
Kudou watched in concern as blood ran down Hakubas hand.   
  
  
"I dont care." Shrugged Hakuba. "I deserve this."   
"No you don't. Now give me your hand." Said Shiho suddenly, standing behind Hakuba. She came over to the boys room to see what had happened when she heard that Hakuba stumped into the room.   
  
  
With out saying anything more, she grabbed Hakubas bleeding hand and took out her handkerchief. Then she carefully wrapped it around Hakubas hand. Hakuba watched Shiho with a mixed emotion on his face. He didnt say anything.  
"Do that again and you WILL break the bones in your hand." She said.   
"I will leave you boys to it, make sure Hakuba don't do anything stupid, will you?" said Shiho when she left the room.   
  
  
Hakuba turned and saw the huge grin on everyone's face. "What?"   
"When is the wedding?" said Kudou, Heiji and Kaito all at the same time.   
"-------Get lost."   
  
  
"Something doesn't make sense" said Heiji. "The murderer stabbed William in his room—before he—lets assume it is a he—mess up his study room. Now, how is he going to get us to believe that there is a robber when William is killed—if killed in his own room?"   
  
  
"Maybe the murderer was planning to kill William and take his body to his study room and make it look like there is a struggle. So when we arrived at the scene, we will think William was killed in his study room." Suggest Kodou   
"What is the motive?" asked Kaito. "we NEED a motive."   
"You like to be 2, 3 steps ahead, don't you?" asked Kudou   
  
  
"Like Kudou said, it all started with Lady Norferk. All the puzzles are here, all we need to do is to put it together." Said Hakuba   
"Lets see: there is the singing girl we saw outside the hotel, who looks like Lady Norferk." Said Kaito   
"bleeding portrait, the death of Lady and Sir Norferk" -Heiji   
"Singing voice at midnight, the contents of the song, that paper with codes"-Hakuba   
"And William wanted to tell us something about his mother."- Kudou. "But, most of all-"   
  
  
""Why William?"" all of them said it at the same time. Then all of them scratched their head at the same time. "AAAHHHHH~~~~TOO MANY QUESTIONS!!!"   
  
  
Kaito raised his eyebrow suggestively. "Maybe its all linked to--- you know--- Pandora?"   
  
"You think?!" frowned Kudou.   
"Yeah, remember there were two robbers? Richard saw them—that is what you said, Hakuba."   
"So you are saying that someone killed Sir Norferk and William—" said Heiji.   
"He ain't dead!" interrupt Hakuba annoyingly   
"Sorry—someone in the family is after that Diamond?"   
  
"Yeah, all we need to do now is find the diamond and use it as a bate to catch the murderer" suggest Kaito.   
"And who else is more suitable to find the diamond than me!!!" he added brightly.  
  
"Anyone but you." Muttered Shinichi.   
"I dont think so." Said Hakuba.   
"I dunno" said Heiji.   
  
Kaito looked at Shinichi. "You know I have a VERY good reason to find that diamond, don't you?"   
Shinichi looked undecided, he knew who Kaito really is, he knows why he wants to find the diamond, he remember the promise KID made, about giving up his "part-time job" if the found Pandora-----   
"Yeah, leave it to Kaito, he will be the one to discover the diamond." Said Kudou finally, shaking his head. "I will regret this."   
  
"Aye aye captain!" Hakuba said bitterly. "and I will find the murderer."   
"I will find the ghost." Grinned Heiji.   
"And I will find---- A FORTUNE!" said Kaito brightly, but all he got was the half moon eyes and warning glares from the boys.   
  
"Chill--- can't you guys take a joke when you hear one?" muttered Kaito.   
  
  
  
*******************************************************  
To be Continue------- 


	10. Where can we go?

You gys wont believe how many times I tried to load up this chapter---its driving me crazy! (literally)  
hope it works this time---  
  
Catz  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 10  
"Where can we go?"  
  
  
It is morning, and the miserable, typical English weather surrounded Bournemouth.   
The black, heavy cloud covered the entire sky and the wind howled madly, indicates the coming of a storm.   
The sea is now the colour of dark blue. Almost black. The huge waves hitting, bashing, attacking the cliffs which the Moonlight Hotel stood.  
  
Richard sighed. Looking out of his bed room window, he knew he cant go out. The condition is too bad.   
He wants to know if his brother is still alive, fighting for his life. Holding the phone in his hand, he knew the whole family have been phoning the hospital once every 15 minutes. And it is annoying the nurses.  
But he cant leave. Not when one of his family is killing each other.  
  
Kudou phoned the hospital too, but for a different purpose.  
"Huh uh, I see." Shinichi muttered into the phone. "I know this information is strictly personal, but I am   
asking on behalf of the Norferk families. No, I am not a doctor, I am a detective—wait—dont hang up!"  
  
Shinichi frowned, slamming the phone down hard. "Those stupid receptionist!"  
He look frustrate around him when he saw Hakuba walked pass down the end of the corridor.  
"Hakuba, wait!" shouted Kudou.  
Hakuba stopped. "Yeah?"  
"You—kinda famous in England, right?"  
Hakuba raised his eyebrow. "What kind of question is that? But yeah, I am popular."  
  
Shinichi grinned his grin and hand him the phone. "Go on, prove it."  
  
10 minutes later, Shinichi is talking on the phone with the hospital and getting all the information he needs.  
Hakuba stood next to him, looking quit proud of himself having telling that lady receptionist he WILL send her his autographs.  
  
"So Lady Norferk spend 5 months in the hospital before she died--- she is not a very healthy person---and her family rarely came to visit her------uh hun---what was the caused of her death?"  
The answer made Shinichi stopped writing and hold his breath.  
Hakuba looked at Shinichi, surprised. "What? What was it?"  
Shinichi hold up his hand, an universal gesture of telling people to be quiet while you are on the phone.  
"I see---- really? Sir Norferk said that? Will---and the rest of the family didnt knew--- but—I see."  
Finally, Kudou sighed "Thank you for your help---yeah, Hakuba will post it tomorrow---no, he cant talk right now, he is busy—bye !"  
  
"Well?!" asked Hakuba, getting impatient. "What was the caused of her death?"  
Shinichi looked thoughtfully at his friend. His answer made Hakuba lost for words.  
  
"She was pregnant."  
  
  
  
  
  
*****************************************************  
  
  
Heiji walked down the corridor where they first saw the bleeding portrait.   
The portrait of young Lady Norferk is still hanging there, looking at Heiji with her big green eyes.  
Heiji stood there. Thinking.   
"How---- did the eyes bled? There is no such a thing as ghost, and it was fake blood. So someone put it there in a matter of ---less than 30 seconds. How is that possible?"  
Suddenly, a voice went off behind Heiji, almost make him jump.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
It was uncle Mike.  
"Er--- just thinking." Replied Heiji.  
"Want something to eat?"  
"yeah! ----I mean, no, not now."  
Uncle Mike nodded. "Theres a storm coming, I suggest you better not go anywhere."  
"I wont. Thanks------oh! By the way----" asked Heiji suddenly, holding his hand up to stop Mike.  
"Yes?"  
"Anne---whats her hobby?"  
Mike seems to be a bit surprise, but he answered anyway.  
"She finished her education. She is the teacher of an acting club in her spare time. This month is her days off, thats why she stays in the hotel and help with the business. She is a fine actress I tell ya!"  
Heiji smiled. "She can act eh?"  
"Oh yeah, she is a hell of an actress. When she was little, she played a cowgirl and won the best young actress in the competition."  
"Cowgirl? Can she shoot?"  
"Shoot? She can hit a can 15 meters away! I am proud of her because I teaches her to shoot." Mike laughed like a proud father, "She is like a daughter to me."  
  
"Well, thanks for your information! See you at dinner!" grinned Heiji brightly. He watched Uncle Mike walked away while humming to himself, and finally, Hattori turned and looked up at the portrait once more.  
"With a good aim, a water gun with fake blood------" Heiji pointed his index finger at the portrait, and clicked his thumb.   
"You can make a painting bleed as much blood as you want!"  
  
"What the hell are you doing? Acting like an idiot and grinning like an idiot?" asked Kazuha.  
"Toyama---what—dont creep up behind me like that!!"  
"I wasnt creeping! Anyway, Ran, Shiho, Aoko and I just made some cookies, I thought you might want to have one." Said Kazuha and she held up the plate to Hattori.   
"Er---thanks." Said Heiji, he picked up the cookies and ate the whole thing in one go.  
  
"Is---is it good? I know you like chocolate, so I added loads in there---" asked Kazuha, she blushed.  
Heiji swallowed hard, he nodded.  
"Its---very ----- (then his eyes went wide) *COUGH* *COUGH* Give—water!!" Hattori choked, while his face turning into a colour darker than chocolate. Kazuha patted his back hard.  
"You are such a---lllb" laughed Kazuha. "Hattori, you are such an idiot sometimes!"  
  
  
  
**************************************************  
  
  
Between the dark corridors, Kaito walked silently on the red thick carpets.  
He is holding two papers in his hand. One with strange writing, the other with the content of the song.  
He looked out of the window, which isnt providing much light into this dark, huge mansion.  
  
"The storm is coming" said Kaito quietly. He leaned closer to the window.  
Suddenly, a lightning strike, follow by the loud thunder, right into the front of the mansion.   
Kaito didnt even blink when the loud noise shook the mansion.  
The light split his handsome face into two, one side you can see his boyish face, the other is dark, mysterious, mature. Like KID.  
His crystal blue eyes looks intense, concentrating, thoughtful. He frowned.  
Something is going to happen. Something bad.  
He looked down at the paper once more, and walked into the huge dark room on his right. The library.  
Quietly, Kaito said to himself. "In the corner of the darkest room, awaits your most horrid doom."  
  
  
********************************************  
  
  
"Go with Kodou, Kazuha, just leave me along!" said Heiji, totally annoyed and ordering Kazuha to leave.   
"I`ve got work to do! You are just a pain right now! GO-AWAY!"  
Kazuha made a face.   
She has been following Heiji around like a bee buzzing around a flower with the humming noise. It IS annoying after a long time.  
"FINE! I will just go! If thats what you really want!" With her half moon, displeased eyes, Kazuha gave Hattori a nasty look.  
"Duh! What have I been saying from the past half an hour?! GO!" shouted Heiji.  
"Dont tell me you are afraid of a little thunder!" Holding the paper in his hand, with doddles and writing, he looked impatiently at Toyoma.  
  
Kazuha looks angry at Hattori, but she knows what Heiji is like when he wants to concentrate on a case.  
She knows that she is, actually, getting in Heijis way.  
"But, if I leave, you have to promise you will come to ---er---* come to what? What do I like and he dont?* Do—eh--- Shopping! Do some shopping with me--- otherwise, I am NOT leaving!" demand Kazuha. Then she waits for Heijis answer.  
"Fine—what ever—go!" muttered Heiji, not realising he is falling into the trap. Still busing making notes, He didnt even hear what Kazuha was actually asking.  
  
Kazuha got a victory grin on her face, knowing that this time, Heiji cant get away. She trotted happily away from Heiji.  
Heiji looked up at Toyama as she turned at the end of the corridor and disappear.  
"What did she just say??"  
  
******************************************  
  
"Want some cookies, Shinichi?" asked Ran to her future husband. Holding out the plate to him. They are in Williams study room, Shinichi was sitting on the chair looking at some books. Ran came into the room and offer Kudou some cookies to eat.  
  
"No, thanks"  
"Some tea?"  
"No"  
"How about those cream sponge cakes? Aoko and I made them"  
"Later"  
"---Well, at least try one of those puddings, strawberry from the garden! John gave them to me"  
"Not now, Ran, I have to work." Snapped Shinichi.  
Ran frowned, her lips pressed tight together. "You havent talk to me for 2 hours, Shinichi."  
"Thats because I am thinking, OK?"   
"You are ignoring me."  
Then, with out a warning, a lightning strike right outside their window and followed with the loud crashing thunder. The whole room lit up for a second, and the floor shook ever so slightly.  
But that was enough to sent Ran let out a scream and running to Shinichi.  
  
"Ran! Dont--!" laughed Kudou, but is was too late, Ran jumped into Shinichis arms and because she was running too fast, the chair Shinichi sat on flipped over and both of them landed on the floor. Shinichi landed head first.  
"OWWW!"  
  
Kudou was holding Ran in his arm, and he hugged her even tighter. He can smell Rans hair. It smell nice.  
And his head hurts.  
Ran blushed and pushed away from Shinichi. She stood up and looked down at her fiance.  
"Sorry---Shinichi----are you all right?"  
"No, but I will live." groan Kudou. He sat up and saw Ran laughing.  
"What?!"  
"I am so sorry! here, give me a kiss."  
"Well, that I can do!" smiled Shinichi, then he stood up and kissed Ran on her lips.  
  
  
"What are you doing?" Ran asked after she put a little OK bond on Shinichis head.  
"Looking at the ground plan of this mansion." Answered Shinichi, still rubbing his head.  
"Why?"  
"Because I think, there might be a secret tunnel or chamber in this mansion. After all, it is a very old building. How did the murderer get away? That is one of the question that is bugging me---"  
"Where do you want to go after you solved the case?" asked Ran again, changing the topic.  
"Eh?"  
"Where can we go? You dont like shopping that much—how about London?! Yeah, a day out in London!"  
"Er----"  
"Or we can book a 3 days trip to Scotland, it is a really nice country. How about Ireland??"  
"Ran----"  
"I know! I can talk to Kazuha and Shiho about it, then we can all go! What are you going to wear---it is cold up there—where is your briefcase Shinichi? I can pack your bags and buy the cloths you need when we go up there—"  
"RAN!!!!!" shouted Shinichi, losing control.  
Ran looked at Shinichi, not surprise, not angry, but expecting. Kudou realised she is doing is deliberately.  
  
"I—You—go and talk to Heiji—or Kazuha, or Shiho—just---ANYONE!" begged Shinichi  
"Fine, if thats what you want." Smiled Ran, getting her own back a bit, she kissed Shinichis face and walked out of the room, giggling.  
Shinchi let out a sigh, shook his head, he smiled bitterly. "Guess my marriage will be half way between Rans parents and my parents."  
Then he paused.  
"NO~~~~~~!"  
  
*********************************************  
  
Ran walked quickly down the corridors, she really hate those portraits on the wall. They are ARTS, and Ran knows each of those portraits holds a story, waiting to be discover. Each person must at least once in love with someone, had some adventures, have some wonderful secrets to share.  
But, just but. Those eyes are really creeeeeepy. And those people looks—well---boring and dead. They dont have any emotion on their pale faces.  
Ran dont like it. She did think once (well, more than once, actually) that there is ghost in this place, and that wife , Lady Norferk, is coming back for revenge.   
She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought.  
  
She arrived at the end of the corridor and turned.  
A shadow appear before her eyes and she screamed. So did the shadow.  
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!----Ah, Kazuha! You scared me!"  
"I scared you?! You made me jump!" cried Kazuha, hand on her chest, taking deep breath to clam her racing heart.  
"Well---where are you going?"  
"To find you. And you?"  
"I was looking for you, Shinichi told me off."  
"Really! Hattori did the same, he told me to go."  
The two girls laughed. "Well, so what should we do now?"  
"Lets go back to our room." Suggest Kazuha. "We can try on those clothes we bought. I dont want to go out, there is a storm coming."  
  
So the girls walked up stairs, chatting happily, with out realising the dark shadow following silently behind them. A wooden stick in its hand.  
  
Kazuha shut the door behind her, and watched Ran dig into the big cupboard to find all the clothes they bought. Kazuha stood there, humming to herself and thinking what Hattori is doing right now.  
She looked at Rans back, who is in front of her. Between them, are the two beds. The door is behind Kazuha.  
"Ran, can you find that purple shopping bag?" asked Kazuha. "You know, the one with that shirt I bought for Hattori?"   
"Pardon?" asked Ran, with all those plastic shopping bags rustling away, she cant hear Kazuha clearly.  
(Try to crunch up those plastic shopping bags, you can see how noisy they are!)  
  
The door opened. Silently. A hand with a metal bar appeared slowly behind the door.  
Kazuha turned when she felt something, or someone is behind her.  
But she didnt get the chance to see what was behind her. It all happened too fast.  
A flash, a heavy, deep thud sound, Kazuha felt to the ground.  
  
"Kazuha?" asked Ran, turning around.  
Kazuha is not there. The door is wide open, which covered up an area behind the wall.  
But where is Kazuha?  
"Kazuha? Where are you?"  
Ran frowned, putting down the bags, she walked round the beds and went for the door. Then she stopped.  
  
Kazuha is on the floor. Next to the bed, her eyes are closed tightly.  
Ran rushed towards the unconscious girl and bend down.  
"Kazuha! Wha—why are you bleeding---?"  
The door behind Ran opened slowly, the person. Hiding behind the door.  
Ran turned, face up, she saw a stick coming.  
If only Ran was prepared and wasnt panicking about her friend on the floor, she could have grabbed the metal bar and gave who ever attacked her a good-kick-right-where-it-hurts.   
But she want ready.  
Ran saw the stars and felt the numbness on her face. Then blackness.   
She collapsed on top of Kazuha.  
  
  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
To be Continue----------- 


	11. Its just the beginning

Heylo Conan fans!!  
This chapter might be a bit bloody---just thought I warn everybody first----  
any questions and comments are welcome!!! (I.e Comments PLEASE!!)   
  
  
Catz  
P.s. thanks for all the comments people sent before!! I really appreciate them!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 11  
"Its just the beginning"  
  
  
  
"What do you mean? Lady Norferk was pregnant?! But—Richard is the youngest one in this family!"  
Asked Hakuba, confused. "Who was that baby?"  
"I dont know, but it was a baby girl. I dont think Richard is actually a girl, do you?" replied Kudou,   
"She died 7 years ago, so that baby should at least be 7 years old. Lady Norferk had a miscarriage. Thats how she died."  
  
"Wait wait wait, hold on a sec---------No one in the family ever mention this to me." Said Hakuba "They didnt know of this, did they? Only Sir Nerfork knew."  
"Now, why did he decided to keep this a secret?" said Shinichi quietly. "Unless------"  
He looked at Hakuba, and watched he shook his head slowly in sadness.  
  
  
Hakuba walked up to the window and watched as the rain started to fall from the sky. The black cloud surrounded the mansion, it kept changing its weird and wonderful shape as the wind blew madly in all directions.   
  
  
Shinichi looked at Hakuba, waiting. After a moment of silence, he said "Its up to you, your call."  
Hakuba turned to face his friend. "Lets keep it quiet. Dont tell anyone about this, ok?"  
Shinichi nodded.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
What they didnt know, was that someone else was listening to them. In the dark, she peek through the gap between the door carefully. Her big brown eyes was full of curiosity. She listened hard and carefully, not wanting to miss a single word.  
After hearing what Kudou said, she stood there with disbelieve, mouth opened. Looking blankly at the space in front of her.  
"I must tell someone!" thought the woman finally, when she snapped back to reality.  
  
  
She waited till Kudou and Hakuba walked away from the phone. Then she slip out of the storage room where she was hiding, opposite to where the phone was.   
She stood next to the phone, making sure no one saw her coming out of the room.  
Still holding a can of food in her hands, she finally turned and dashed upstairs and towards a room down the end of the corridor.  
  
  
"You wont believe this!" cried the woman, panting, she pushed the door open "Dora had a—"  
  
  
Suddenly, her mouth was covered up by a hand from behind. The woman didnt even had a chance to scream. Two hands grabbed her roughly and pushed her onto the floor.   
The woman`s head bang against the corner of the table, caused her to lose conscious for a few seconds.   
Moaning, she opened her eyes and pushed herself up slowly, still feeling dazed.  
  
  
She looked around her, tried to focus her eyes. There was some other people in the room, on the floor. She saw Ran and Kazuha. Both lying there, eyes closed tightly.  
"----!!!!??!"  
  
"What are you doing?!!" cried the woman, but she got no reply. She struggled to stood up, and watch as the person she knew locked up the door, and put the key into its pocket.  
"Are you mad? What have you done to these girls?"  
Still, no answer.   
  
  
The woman suddenly have this horrified feeling emerging, she slowly back up against the wall behind her.  
"You—you killed them?!"  
She saw the evil, savage, mad face expression on the persons face. The steel cold eyes have no emotion in them.  
  
  
The woman cant breathe, she is panting again, not because of the exhaustion, but because she is horrified.  
Her hands clinched on tightly on to her skirt, she back into the corner of the room, like a little helpless animal that is about to be slaughter by a starving lion.  
The person walked slowly up to her, breathing heavily. Eyes never left the womans helpless face.  
The animal instinct inside the woman is telling her to run away, every single cell in her brain is screaming : RUN AWAY! RUN!! GET AWAY WHEN YOU CAN!! Her hearts was pounding like mad.  
  
  
"AHHHH!!!"  
With a desperate cry, the woman launched herself forwards, pushed past the person and ran towards the door.  
She reached for the door knob, but it wouldnt turn. The woman cried, whimpered, she used her hands to bang against the door, scratching the door, pulling the knob, screaming.  
"Help! Somebody help me!! HELPPP!!! Open the door!!!! LET ME OUT!!!"  
  
  
The woman turned again to face the person, who, like a leopard with its dangerous eyes, creep up behind her. The person is now right in front of her, face to face.  
A knife flashed before her eyes.  
  
  
The woman screamed as she watch the knife charged and stabbed into her stomach.  
Her mouth is now covered up by a hand, as the knife went deeper into her body. Her muffled scream didnt reach far, not far enough to save her.  
  
  
Blood came pouring out—her own blood, the woman watched as her blood poured out of her body.  
------it slowly turned the floor red, blood dripped between the woman and the murderer.  
The person pulled out the knife and stabbed again.  
  
  
After a while----her body crumbled onto the floor------------  
Finally, the person let go of the womans mouth, when her eyes are empty and lifeless. When she couldnt make any more noise.  
  
  
Outside, the wind howls and rain bang against the window madly, desperately.   
The glass windows shook, each time, it makes one wonder when it will give up and break into thousands pieces.  
But inside the room, there is silence. Only the sound of heavy breathing from the murderer and blood dripping to the floor.  
Drip. Drip. Drip.  
So wet, so red, so wrong.  
  
  
**************************************************  
  
"This love is a shrill shock suspense~~~"  
Aoko hummed to herself while she cleaned up the kitchen with Shiho.  
"This is going to be a big storm." Said Shiho, looking out through the window.  
"Yeah----but we cant go anywhere anyway, not until the boys find out who the murderer is." Replied Aoko, she seems to be in really good mood.  
"Here Kaito, have another cookie"   
Kaito blinked, he stood next to the fridge and was drinking a whole bottle of coke, seems to be trying to flush down what ever is in his mouth.  
"Look, Aoko, as much as I *like* your food, *Swallow* I dont want to end up *gulp* throwing up all day."  
Aoko raised her eyebrow—and her voice. "And JUST what do you mean by that?!"  
"Well----I DID have more than 10 cookies from each of you!"  
  
  
"Oh—well---" Aoko allowed that answer, so she turned around and faced Shiho.  
"Shall I take some to the policemen ? After all, they did stand outside our room the whole night!"  
Shiho smiled, and Kaito shook his head, chuckling.  
"Whats so funny!" shouted Aoko.  
"We are the suspects of an attempted murder, and those policemen are here to watch us. You go up and offer cookies? I dont think they will want any." Laughed Kaito.  
  
Aoko blushed. "I was just trying to be ---nice----"  
Strangely, Kaito let out a warm smile on his face. "I know you are."  
Aoko was lost for words for a few seconds. She stared at Kaito, but Kaito looked away. Kaito is acting differently for some reason. He is being---nice. After all, Aoko and he didnt argue for a good 30 minutes, and that was a VERY good record.  
  
  
"Lets go and find Ran and Kudou." Suggest Shiho. "I want to know how the investigation is going."  
Kaito and Aoko looked at Shiho.  
"I think you missed out someone ." grinned Kaito.  
Shiho sighed. "Kazuha and Heiji?"  
"Not them, try again." Grinned Aoko.  
  
Finally, Shiho replied with some annoyance, "Hakuba."  
"Yeah!" laughed Aoko "Lets go and find your boyfriend!"  
"He is NOT my boyfriend!"  
  
  
********************************************  
  
"Where is Ran?" asked Shinichi. Looking around when Heiji walked into William's study room.  
"She—isnt she with you? I told Kazuha to go and stay with you and Ran" Replied Heiji.  
"What? And I told her to go with YOU! I also told Kazuha to go with you!"  
"What?!!"  
"So you havent seen them?"  
"NO!"  
"Then where are they?  
"I dont know—"  
A bad feeling haunted the boys. Shinichi can feel this strange, worrying feeling deep down. And it is getting stronger. He hated this feeling.   
They looked at each other.  
  
  
Hakuba rushed into the room. "Richard and the rest of the family are in the living room, but I cant find— Whats wrong?"  
"Have you seen Ran and Kazuha?" asked Heiji desperately.  
"No, what's the matter?"  
"Shit." Heiji cursed. "I am going to find them first."  
  
  
"I say— Where are the police?" asked Kaito as he walks into the room with Aoko, both of them eating away with food in their hands. Shiho is with them, deep in her thought. "They are missing—I dont think all of them will go to the toilet at the same time, do you?"  
"Have you seen Ran and Kazuha?" asked Shinichi.   
"No" was the replied.  
Shiho could feel something is wrong by looking at the boys face expression.  
  
  
"Something is not right." Said Kudou. "stay together, everyone. Get the family together, we are going to find the girls first——"  
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"   
A high pitched, horrified scream cut off Shinichi. Aoko jumped in surprise.  
  
  
They looked at each other for a few seconds, knowing something bad has happened. Again.  
All of them ran toward where the scream came from. In the store room.   
"Please—not Kazuha!" begged Heiji silently.  
Shinichi looked down, he saw some deep red dots on the carpet, leading towards where the scream came from.  
  
  
When they finally arrived, a bloody scene is display in front of their eyes.  
Aunt Louise.   
In her own blood pool. A knife. In her stomach. Her pale face is covered with her own wet blood, next to her right hand, a can of food. Her eyes were wide open in horrid and her mouth let out a soundless scream.  
Tracey cried, she didnt faint this time, she was on her knees and she grabbed onto Hakuba, who just arrived at the scene. Followed by Mike and Richard. Finally, John and Alice arrived.  
Mike gave out a cry and he ran towards his wife.  
"Louise! Louise---god—no----Talk to me! Louise!" he held his wife's lifeless body and sobbed.  
  
  
"Who did this!!" roared Richard, going crazy. He glared at everyone one by one "Which one of you did this!!!? Who killed my aunt Louise!!" he cried. Losing control, he waved his fist at no-one particular. John jumped forward and grabbed him with all his strength.  
"Richard! Richard!! Calm down!!"  
"Get off me!!"  
  
"She died no more than 20 to 30 minutes ago, blood is still wet------ there is some blood outside the corridor. She was putted here after she was killed." Said Shinichi, examine the body by just looking, since Mike was still crying and wouldnt let go of the cold body.  
  
"Im sorry----" said Hakuba, walking towards Mike and tried to put a comfort hand on his shoulder.  
Mike slapped Hakubas hand away. "You Sir, are---are" Mike tried to put his mind together and come up with something insulting. "Are-- a-- are an ass!!"  
Hakuba stood there, didnt say anything. Kaito and Heiji tried not to let out a chuckle by the way Mike just insulted someone.  
"Ever since you and your Japanese friend got here, bad things never stop happening, this is all your fault!" shouted Mike.  
  
"Hey! Thats is not fair!! " shouted Hattori. "Bad things? You havent see enough bad things I tell you! If you come to Japan and hang around with us, you will get all the bad things that could ever happen to anyone – dead people, for example. And if YOU think Hakuba are bad luck—"  
Shinichi gave Heiji a push with his elbow, he hissed. "Shut up will you?"  
  
  
"Thats enough!" a voice came behind the group, everyone turned and saw Tracey stood there, looking angry. There is still tears running down her face, but her voice was strong and firm.  
"Hakuba are doing his best to help! I dont want to hear anymore blaming, got that!"  
Hakuba clinched his fist tightly. He is angry. Angry at himself.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
"One of them is the murderer." Said Heiji quietly. "but which one?"  
"Personally, I prefer just grabbed them by the neck and strangle them till one of them confess." Muttered Kaito.  
"I must disagree with that method." Said Shinichi, shaking his head with a smile "Detectives dont do things like that, you know."  
"Yeah? Thats why you guys are so slow at solving crimes?"  
  
  
Everyone was sitting in the living room, waiting. The Norferk family sitting on one side, Japanese group in the other.  
They listen to the wind howls, and the rain batter the windows. No-one said a word to each other.  
They tried to contact the police, but the phone line was cut off. The mobile phones couldnt get any signal in the storm, and worse of all, they knew that the phone lines were cut off deliberately.   
  
  
"Where is Ran and Kazuha?" asked Aoko, worried.   
Heiji stood up. "I am going to find them idiots, you guys wait here."  
"Im going with you." Said Shinichi, jumping to his feet. Wanting to get out of this room, because of the unfriendly stare they get from the Norferk family. He had enough of this creepy place.  
"Im going too!" said Aoko, she had just about enough too.  
Shiho opened her mouth, was about to say something. but she stopped when everything went black.  
  
  
With a loud thunder, the lights went off. Blackness is all around them. Aoko and Tracey cried a little, and Aoko grabbed Kaitos arm with out thinking.  
The lightning strike again, it revealed everyone's pale face. They looked at each other, no-one said anything, just silence. The howling wind and wild rain created a creepy feeling inside everyone.  
The atmosphere is full of fear and panic.  
"Black out?" asked Tracey finally with the shaking voice. "It has never happen before!"  
"We will get the tourch" said John and Mike  
"I will go with you." Said Alice.  
  
Everyone sat down again, Shinichi and Heiji looked at each other, annoyed.   
A strange feeling haunt Aoko. She feels something bad was going to happen. It was going to happen to someone she care. Kaito is not superstitions, so no use telling him there. She swallowed hard and decided to keep this *feeling* to herself.  
No use to bother anyone with her stupid feelings, right?  
  
  
Hakuba was lost in thoughts. He was quiet the whole time. He then looked around him when he felt he was being watched. He can see Kaitos deep blue sea eyes were looking at him in the dark, concerned.  
He pointed his chin every so slightly at the direction were John, Mike and Alice left.  
No-one saw this action but Hakuba.  
Hakuba shook his head slowly, and he stood up.  
  
  
Kaito gave him a nod and looked calmly out at the window.  
Aoko sat closed to Kaito, she heard Kaito said something. She is scared by what she heard.  
"We are trapped." Said Kaito ever so quietly. "Its just the beginning."  
  
  
***********************************  
To be continue-------  
  
  
Comments~~~la la la~~~~ ß going nutty  
Sorry if this is too gross, but hey, whats a detective story with out some murdering? ^_^llllb 


	12. They got them

Chapter 12, conan fans---sorry for the delay---  
hope you like it!  
Comments please! =^0^=  
  
Catz  
(P.s. thanks, Alexia! For checking the grammar for me!)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 12   
"They got them."  
  
  
  
Smack!   
Aoko slapped the back of Kaito's head as soon as he finished what he had said.   
"OW!"   
  
"What are you talking about? Trapped? Don't be ridicules! Why do you always have to say something that means bad luck? Can't you say something nice once is a while?!" said Aoko, trying to hide the frightening look on her face by being mad at Kaito (who was rubbing his head and giving Aoko the half-moon eyes)   
"Hey, just because you are scared, it doesn't mean that you have to take it out on me!!" replied Kaito.   
"I am not scared!!"   
"Well, you certainly act like it!!"   
  
"You two---can you be quiet for a while?" muttered Hakuba. He was thinking, and he didn't like to be disturbed by some silly argument.   
  
They were still sitting in the dark, large living room. The only light source was the lightening that lit up their faces every few seconds. The wind howled and rain battered against the windows.   
The air surrounded them was heavy with nervousness and frighten breath that came out of everyone.   
  
There was 8 of them in the room, looking at each other with suspicious eyes.   
Shinichi, Heiji, Kaito and Hakuba remained quiet.   
Aoko and Shiho sat together, talking quietly.   
Richard and his elder sister Tracey sat together, waiting.   
They were all waiting for Alice, John and Mike to come back with the torch and candles, so they could start to search for Ran and Kazuha. They had been missing for an hour now. Shinichi and Heiji were getting more and more worried.   
"Ran doesn't like dark." Muttered Shinichi.   
"Kazuha hates dark." Said Heiji. "Where the hell is she?"   
  
  
Suddenly, Hakuba, who was quiet the whole time, looked up at everyone, and he saw Aoko and Shiho.   
"Shiho-------"   
"Yes?" said Shiho.   
"Tell me something----wait, let me sit next to you."   
"------fine."   
  
  
Aoko gave way, elbowing Kaito as to tell him to move to the side so Hakuba could sit between her and Shiho.   
Kaito moved to the edge of the sofa, "No more space left! Aoko, is your bum getting bigger or what?"   
"Rubbish!" replied Aoko sharply and rolled her eyes. "Kaito, shut up."   
Kaito grinned at Aoko. "If you want to sit closer to me, just say so! Want a hug?"   
Smack!   
Another smack on the back of Kaitos head from Aoko.   
  
  
"I want to ask you something, but I don't want Richard or Tracey to hear what I want to ask." Said Hakuba to Shiho.  
"All right."   
Hakuba leaned closer to Shiho and put his hand against his mouth, then he whispered into Shiho's ear.   
"Have you seen anyone acting strange since you arrived at the hotel?"   
Shiho smiled. "They are all strange, as far as I can see."   
"I know, but I mean something like----argument or strange behaviour?"   
Shiho thought for a while. Then she nodded.   
"William and Alice, I think they had an argument. We saw it."   
Then Shiho told Hakuba what they saw and how angry both William and Alice were.   
  
  
Hakuba looked reasonably surprised, he nodded to himself and sat silent for the next 5 minutes.   
Shinichi and Heiji looked at Hakuba with wondering eyes, but their mind were often disturbed by their worries for Ran and Kazuha.   
Richard, who was still unhappy with Hakuba, sat in silence and put on his unfriendly face.   
Tracey looked blank, and not much could be told on her pale and beautiful face.   
  
  
Suddenly, Hakuba sprang up, as if he just sat on a needle and it sting his bum.   
Aoko and Shiho watched in surprise.   
"What's wrong?"   
  
  
"I can't believe this----" shouted Hakuba. "Mike is in danger!"   
"What?" gasped Richard and Tracey.   
But Hakuba didn't have any intention of answering any questions, he ran out of the room in a flash. He smashed a vase next to the door on his way out because it was too dark to see any thing properly.   
Hakuba didnt even bothered to stop and apologies, they could hear his foot steps trailing off down the end of the long dark corridor.  
"My vase!" cried Tracey "Oh---at least it is not an expensive one."   
"Dramatic exit." Muttered Kaito. "Always big on the exit."   
  
  
"Yeah, just like someone I know." Said Shinichi, giving Kaito *the* look.   
"Who?" asked Kaito, pretending like he doesn't know who Kudou was talking about.   
"Im going after him" said Shinichi, he chased after Hakuba.   
Heiji gave Kaito a look and he said in a mocking tone "Come on people! Let's play catch in this dark hotel. If you trip over or break your bone, you lose."   
"Ha ha, very funny." Said Shiho, as all of them ran out of the living room to chase after Hakuba and Shinichi.   
  
  
  
******************************************************   
  
  
Aoko and Tracey tripped more than once during the chase, Richard and Kaito had to kept on stopping and lifted them up by their arm.   
The only way they could see where they were heading was when the lightening stroke, the cold and lifeless portraits looked ever so scary against the pale white light that flashes with the loud crashing sound of thunder.   
Aoko wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn't.   
"I am not going to lose the game!" thought Aoko, trying everything to get the frightening feeling out of her.   
  
  
"Mike!! Hakuba!!" shouted Shinichi.   
Heiji stood next to him, both panting heavily.   
"Gees, this place looks bigger in the dark--- Hakuba! Answer, you dipstick!!"   
Shinichi stopped calling and looked at Heiji. "Dipstick?"   
"Aye, I mean, yeah, I learned that word from Anne----"   
"Aye?"   
"It's Scottish for Yes---Haven't you learned anything while we are here?"  
"-----Forget it, HAKUBA!!!"   
  
  
Shiho was now with them, looking around down the long corridor, waiting for the rest of the group.   
"You two are stupid, where do you think they usually put torches and candles?" she said impatiently.   
"Because it should be where Mike headed, no use running around like a bunch of idiots."   
"Good point, Shiho, you are really smart after all." Replied Shinichi with a cheeky grin.   
Shiho sighed.   
  
  
"Yo Tracey, where do you guys keeps the torches and candles?" shouted Hieji   
Tracey blinked, she seemed to be really confused by what was going on.   
"Er---er---down stairs---no, wait—we have another smaller storage room down the end of this corridor----follow me."   
Richard walked up to Shinichi and hissed "What the hell is going on? What did Hakuba mean?"   
Shinichi didn't answer, and Richard didn't wait for an answer either, he walked faster to catch up with Tracey.   
  
  
"Shiho, what did you tell Hakuba?" asked Shinichi.   
"I told him that we saw an argument broke out between Alice and William the day he was----attacked."   
"That's it?"   
"That's pretty much it."   
  
  
They finally arrived at the end of the corridor, right in front of the storage room.   
Tracey didn't know why, but she was holding her breath when she touched the handle on the door. Heart thumping, hand shaking.   
Everyone was quiet, no-one made any noise. 7 pairs of eyes fixed on the door. Waiting, for the moment of truth.   
Aoko swallowed hard. Kaito was quiet, wondering.   
"Go on." Said Richard quietly, almost whispering.   
Gathering all her nerves together, Tracey took a deep breath and opened the door.   
  
  
The door creaked and slowly moved away from everyone.   
They stared, holding breath.   
For the first few seconds, no-one saw anything, for it was dark and seemed to be empty, hollow.   
No-one walked in, like there was some sort of invisible wall in front of them and they dear not break it.   
"Hakuba? Mike?" said Shinichi, taking a step into the dark and cold storage room.   
  
  
The lightening flashed, lit up the entire corridor and some light flashed in to the room from the small window at the end of the room.   
For the first time, they saw what horror was hidden in this small and innocent room.   
Aoko gasped and turned, Tracey gave out a bloody scream that pierced through everyone's ear drum.   
Shiho closed her eyes and put a hand on her chest.   
  
  
The floor was bloody, cover with red. Shinichi looked down and was disgusted by the face that he was standing in a blood pool.   
Blood was everywhere, splattered on the wall, on the cans of food. On the shelves and even on the small window at the end of the storage room.   
On the floor, a man was lying on his side, eyes wide and mouth bloody. Staring of in front of him and let out a wordless scream. Just like his beloved wife.   
There was stabbed wounds all over his body, and they were still wet, dripping down his head.   
The room was messy, several objects were knocked down and some blood were smudged on the wall.   
Uncle Mike had struggled when he was stabbed.   
  
  
"Mike-----" cried Tracey, and she sat on the floor, unable to move. "Why----?"   
Shinichi sighed, wanted to get a clearer look at the murder scene, but it was too dark. Suddenly, a small fire appeared in front of him. It lit up the room and he saw Kaito, holding a lighter in his hand.   
"This might help, but not much." Said Kaito. And he saw the look on Aokos face. "I don't smoke, you know"   
  
  
"Look." Said Shiho, her voice was really clear and cold, but something in her voice told Shinichi that he will not like what he is about to see.   
"---- Bloody hell no." Muttered Heiji.   
  
  
On the left side of the wall, there were some writings, written with blood. It was running down the wall slowly. Tracey felt an urge to vomit, but it was Richard who were actually holding his mouth, green face and feeling faint.   
  
  
Slowly, Kaito read out the writing on the wall.   
  
  
IF YOU WANT THE GIRLS TO STAY ALIVE   
DO NOT TRY TO LEAVE THE HOTEL   
DO NOT TRY TO CONTACT ANYONE   
FIND PANDORA   
  
  
Shinichi couldn't believe what he was reading.   
Heiji cursed, holding his fist even tighter.   
"Does this mean---" asked Aoko, she grabbed Kaitos arm, Kaito just stood there and looked at Shinichi and Heiji. Waiting.   
  
  
"They got Ran and Kazuha." Said Kudou in deep, angry voice. "They got them."   
  
  
**************************************   
  
  
Ran tried to move, but she couldnt. She tried to open her mouth, but something was stuffed into her mouth that made it impossible to move her bloody lips------ darkness was everywhere, like black velvet, wrapped around her cold and shaking body on the floor. No sound, no vision. Only the feeling of time ticking away. Her life ticking away.   
"Where am I? what happened?" thought Ran, she hold the tears in her eyes, trying her best not to sob. Her head hurts, so does her face. A helpless feeling merged inside her.  
  
"Em—em" suddenly, a mumbled voice appeared in the dark. Ran's body frozed when she realised the voice was very close to her. Next to her.   
She held her breath when she noticed the mumbled voice turned into soft sobbing. A girls sobbing.   
"Em---" Ran made some noise, try to make the girl noticed her. The sobbing stopped suddenly.   
After a few minutes of silence, Ran decided to try again, she moved her body to where the voice came from and tried to use her hands to feel around her. It was not easy when your hands were tied behind your back.   
Ran rolled onto her side and felt something.   
  
  
"EM!" a soft cry. Ran felt her hand—on someone's face.   
"Em?" Ran is now really scared. What is this she is touching? Who? *If this is a dead body--?" thought Ran, she could feel her hair standing up on her back.   
"No—a dead person can't make any voice—can they?"   
  
  
But no, the body was warm. And it was moving, trying to get away.   
Ran grabbed the person in the dark, she didn't meant to be rough, but she could hear the person cry out in shock. She could feel the texture in her hand.   
  
  
Hair. Long Hair. Along with some soft fabric which tied the hair together.   
"EMMM!" cried Ran in joy.   
"EM?" was the reply. She could almost tell what this girl was saying.   
"em! Em!!" replied Ran.   
  
  
After a few seconds of realisation, both girls starting to giggle. In the darkness.   
They felt really silly, afraid but also comforting knowing that they were together.   
It was Kazuha. Kazuha was with her.   
  
  
*****************************************************   
To be Continue-------- 


	13. I cant believe this!

I thought no-one is gona read this fic anymore!!! 0_0 I was really surprise to see some comments-(telling me to hurry up---) thank you!!! (catz deeply touched)  
here it is, chapter 13!!! Enjoy!  
  
Catz  
  
  
  
Chapter 13  
"I cant believe this!"  
  
  
  
  
"I hate this place!!" Muttered Aoko, there were tears in her blue eyes and she felt sick.  
Shiho was standing close to her, her face was grave and pale.  
"Where is Hakuba?" She whispered to herself.  
  
"He was Stabbed to death, he struggled hard before he died." Said Kaito, then he saw the look on Shiho`s face. "I wasnt talking about Hakuba----lllb"  
Shiho rolled her eyes.  
"The body is still warm, so he died about 5 to 10 minutes ago---- this is sick." Said Kaito, looking at the dead body of Mike, after examined the body, he stood up and looked at the rest of the group. His eyes wondered from Tracey and Richard`s face to Kudou and Heijis face. The two detectives were standing in the darkness, staring at the writings on the wall. Legs glued to the floor.  
The lightening are flashing against the grey wall, and the bloody letters can be seen with the white flashy light.  
  
There was silence, utterly silence. No-body moved. The air was thick with tension and horrified mood.  
Aoko can almost hear her heart beating. It sounded so loud. She swallowed hard, eyes stared at the floor. Head swimming with all those scary ideas that pops up in her none-stop.  
  
Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder. Aoko gasped and turned her head. Through the pale light, she saw a bloody hand on her shoulder. She froze.   
  
After a few seconds (it was an effort to open her mouth and work on her voice), Aoko let out a high pitch scream.  
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   
Cried Aoko, she thrown herself forwards and turned around with dismay.  
  
"Aoko! Its only me!" said Hakuba, he seems to get a bit of shock from Aokos cry. SO did the rest of the group.  
  
"Hakuba!! Where have you--- are you hurt?" asked Shiho, walking up to him.  
"No." Replied Hakuba, he looked at Richard and Tracey.  
"I tried to stop them, but by the time I arrived, Mike was already dead. I saw them, so I shouted and chased them, calling you guys. But they disappear into one of the rooms---I couldnt find them. I went back to the living room, cant find you lot, so I came here."  
  
"Whoa, wait, cut." Said Kaito. "What?"  
"I chased Alice and John." Replied Hakuba, looking at Richards face. "They were the killers."  
  
****************************************************  
  
  
"I CANT BELIEVE THIS!" shouted Richard, spitting mad. "Are you saying-saying that, that Aunt Alice and Uncle John are the murderers?!!"  
"YES." Said Hakuba.   
"They are in here, trying to force us to find the diamond. Watching every single moves we made."  
  
The whole group in back to the living room, they decided to leave Mikes body in the storage room.  
The phone lines are still dead, and their mobile phones still couldnt get any signals.  
Some sitting, some standing, some are in the state of shock. Worst of all, it is still pitch black.  
  
Shinichi and Heiji havent say a single word, something was not right. Aoko was worry sick. For Ran and Kazuhas safety.  
"So." Said Shiho. "What do we do?" she was looking at Hakuba, eyes searching for an answer, but Hakuba was wiping the blood off his hand, looking sad and thoughtful. The blood from Mike. He tried to save him, but it was too late.   
  
Heiji didnt say anything. He was glaring at Kudou. Who, was also staring at him.  
  
"You shouldn't have sent them away." Said Kudou.  
"What?!" shouted Heiji. "How about you? If you let them stay, then they wont be missing, will they?! Baka!"  
"WHAT DID YOU SAY??!!" shouted Shinichi, voice rising. "Ran are in danger, and you blame me for it?"  
" WHO ELSE?" said Heiji "You sent her away, this is all your fault- YOU JERK!"  
"THATS IT!!!" roared Shinichi, "HEIJI, YOU ARE THE MOST PATHETIC LOSER I HAVE EVER SEEN! GET A LIFE YOU MORON!!"  
That got Heiji. He is worry about Kazuha, he is angry about not able to stop the murders sooner, and the frustration is now unbearable. Then his friend called him a pathetic loser.  
One thing about Heiji is that he dont have much patience and he act before he thinks.   
  
Before Kaito and Hakuba can jump in to stop them from shouting, Heiji swung his fist right into Shinichis face. Shinichi wasnt prepare for that, he felt a heavy punch on his cheek before he toppled back, using his hands to hold onto the sofa behind him to stopped himself.  
Shiho had to moved to her right to get out of the way. Aoko gasped.  
  
Shinichi blinked, looking at Heiji with disbelieve. Suddenly, an angry rage erupted within him, he bounced onto his feet punched back straight away at Heiji.. Too hard. Heiji slammed into the sofa with blood trickled down his mouth.  
With an angry roar, both of them started to punch, kick and fought like crazy.  
  
"HEY HEY HEY!!!" shouted Hakuba and Kaito, both of them trying to hold Kudou and Heiji back.  
"STOP IT!!" shouted Kaito. "DONT MAKE ME DO THIS!!" but as soon as he finished the sentence, Heiji swung an other punch at Shinichi. Unheeding to Kaito`s warning.  
Kaito muttered to himself "This is not an boxing match." then he swung a punch right in Heijis face.   
Hakuba did the same to Shinichi.  
  
Aoko and Shiho watched in amazement and shock.  
Shinichi and Heiji then got pushed roughly into the sofa, panting heavily and wiping the blood of their faces.  
"IT IS EVERYBODY'S FAULT, OK?!!" shouted Hakuba, about just as mad as the two people on the sofa. "this is no time for you two to start wrestling, act like adults, is not too hard, it is?!!!"  
  
Shinichi didnt saying anything. His face, chest and arm hurts. Heiji punched his cheek, Shinichi thinks it is swollen. He can feel the fire was still burning with in him.  
Heiji could taste blood. He bit his lips. He really wanted to return that punch, but he knew he must have hit really hard because his fist was hurting just the same.  
  
"It is sad when I have to be the one remain serious and calm, now, listen to me." Said Kaito.  
His usually relax, mocking expression is replaced with serious, powerful glare. He looked at everyone in the room, one by one, then, with the deep, thoughtful voice, he continued.  
"Look, Alice and John got Ran and Kazuha. We cant leave the hotel because they are watching us, and if we try anything funny, they will hurt Ran and Kazuha. It says on the wall that we have to find diamond Pandora. So that is what we have to do. Find it, give it to them. Our main priority is get Ran and Kazuha back. Safely. Then get the hell out of here."  
  
Then Kaito raised his head. "Anyone got a problem with that?"   
silence.  
"Good. We stick together, no-one, and I mean NO-ONE is going to leave, got that?!"  
Everyone nodded.  
  
Kaito then turn to Heiji and Shinichi, who now is a lot calmer but still glaring at each other.  
Kaito sighed and shook his head. Then he got his mocking smile back on his face.  
"Come with me." He said then he gave the two angry, worrying boys a pitying look.   
Kaito then walked out of the living room, with everyone following behind him.  
  
Aokos mouth is wide open. She had NEVER seen Kaito like this, being so serious and sensible and calm and--- not Kaito.   
Shihos mouth was slightly open. She had NEVER seen Shinichi acting like this before. Ran is in real danger, and he is worried and frustrated enough to started a fight. Not Shinichi at all.  
  
"You all right?" asked Richard to Heiji. Heiji shrugged. "The wimp hit like a girl."  
Shinichi raised his eyebrow, hold his fist, and was ready to go nuts again.  
"Whoa, stop." asked Hakuba, to Shinichi AND Heiji. Then he stepped between them. "You can play your WWF game when we are out of here, and when the girls are safe, OK?"  
  
************************************************************************************  
BANG!!!   
Ran slammed the wall/door as hard as she could in the dark, but it didnt even budge.  
She was able to stand up and immediately to her left, she felt the wooden texture on the wall, she thought it might be a door, so she tried to open it.  
  
"Emmm---RAN!!" gasped Kazuha. "I got the thing out of my mouth, it wasnt tied properly--- where are you?"  
"Em!" said Ran, she was standing up, leaning against what she though might be a door.  
"I might be able to-er---bite off the cloth in your mouth-so we can speak-keep making noise, ok? Cant really see where you are-----"  
"Emmmmmm" *said* Ran.  
  
"Ok--- here you are---oops-sorry--- this is your neck, right--- here is it---" Kazuha mumble as she *feel* her way to get to the cloth that tied to Rans mouth. Ran giggled, Kazuha was literally breathing to her eyes, but again, it really helped that it is dark and the girls cant really see each others face expression.  
Then Kazuha bit hard and pull.  
  
"AHHH!" cried Ran. "Kazuha!"   
"Ran!"  
Then both of them said at the same time. "Dont EVER tell anyone we did this, ok?"  
"Where are we?" asked Kazuha  
"I dont kno-OW!"   
"Kno-ow?"  
"You stepped on me toe!"  
"Sorry!"  
"We have to get out. Feel the door any where?"  
"Lets search---wait."  
"What?"  
"Can you erm--- can you get the rope untied on my wrist."  
"How? My hands are tied too---oh."  
"Sorry, I promise I will go shopping with you. I will buy you a lunch."  
"fine--- dont scream if I bit off you fingers."  
"I wont."  
"------Remember to buy me some mouth wash after this as well."  
  
Carefully, Ran moved closer to Kazuha and starting to bite the ropes which were tied around Kazuha`s wrist.   
"Not my finger---not my finger---Ran---not my fingers-----" mumbled Kazuha nervously.  
"Got it! Quick, untie me!!" cried Ran in joy, spitting out the fiber in her mouth at the same time.  
  
Kazuha rubbed her bruised wrist. "Where are you-----turn around, Ran"   
Ran sighed with relief "I want to get out of here---I wonder how long it has been since we lost our conscious?"  
Kazuha starting to untie the rope on Ran. "I dont know---cant be more and 2 hours---Where are we?"  
  
At the same time, they heard the soft, laughing voice behind them.   
It was a light voice, travel lightly through the cold air, coming suddenly out of the dark and empty space which surrounded them.  
  
Ran and Kazuha`s hearts froze in that split second. And a chilling feeling gone straight into their bones.  
A nameless horror filled their whole body. Stiffened, unable to move or speak, they remained as still as rock.  
The laughing voice did not stop. 


	14. Get On With It!

Hello Conan Fans!!  
  
How are you all?! Thank you for reading this fic and big thank you to people who left some comments for my ficcie! =^0^=   
(after reading The Lord Of The Rings 4 times, I have decided its time to write some more chapters)  
(That is one amazing book! I just love LOTRs!!! You guys must read it too!!)  
*cough* *cough*-----okay----enough off-topic stuff.  
  
I have a little request ------I have been rewriting my first fic "Summer Camp", you know, adding bits and pieces. I was wondering if anyone is actually reading it? And would you be kind enough to leave some comments for that fic too? (If you have never read it, please give it a try----personally, I prefer that fic more than this one!)   
  
As for people from the Yahoo Conan fan club, can you please leave some comments to let me know you guys are from the club? So I will know whether people from that club are still interested in my fic.  
Well---I am going to try me best to speed through this fic---- thank you for reading it (again), and I hope you will enjoy this chapter!  
  
  
Luv  
Catz  
  
p.s. I got a feeling the title of this chapter represents what people really wants to say to me-----lllb  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 14  
"Get on with it!!"  
  
  
  
"Why---why Alice? She is part of the family!" asked Tracey with a shaking voice. "Whats going on? I cant take any of this anymore----", she burst into tears. "Its all a curse!"  
"It have nothing to do with curses." Said Hakuba. "Its a long story------" He turned around to find Richard staring at the floor, like all the energy has been drained out of his body.  
  
Hakuba too a deep breath and said "Richard, there is something I must tell you about your mother."  
  
Richard looked up at Hakuba, face blank. "Eh? What?" he blinked slowly, "---Too much killing-----too much" he was talking to no-one particularly. "We are all going to die----- arent we?"  
Everyone looked at him, Shiho made a pretty frown. Aoko swallowed hard.  
Richard turned his face towards the dark, empty corridor, a horror filled his eyes.  
"---but------who is next?" he said in afraid tone. Almost whispering. "Who is the next to die?"  
  
Everyone stopped. Looking at one another, nervous for the answer to that question.  
Aoko shivered.  
  
"NO-ONE!" growled Heiji.   
"We wont let it happen. Get it through your thick skull will ya?! It is not a curse! All of you are a bunch of-"  
Aoko walked up to Heiji and puts her hand oh his shoulder. She didnt know what to say, but she knows how Heiji must feel right now. "She will be fine, I promise, Hattori----I -I know she will be fine."  
Aoko said quietly, unsure whether this will get through to Heiji or not.  
  
Heiji quiet down, he looked at Aoko. The anger and frustration slowly vanished from the corner of his mouth when he saw the look on Aoko`s face. Worried, afraid, sad. And he was just making the matter worse.  
  
"Aoko----thanks." He smiled wearily to Aoko, and walked forwards. "Lets find that damn diamond and save the girls." He walk passed Shinichi, who was staring at him.  
"Get out of my way." Heiji muttered.  
Shinichi held his fists, but he contained his anger and walked silently behind Heiji.  
The group finally starting to move up the third floor. While everyone was walking upstairs following, Hakuba caught up with Richard.  
  
"Richard." Continued Hakuba, finally. "We found out how your mother died."  
"--?" Richard looked surprise. "What?!---how?"  
"She died of miscarriage."   
Tracey looked up at Hakuba with shock. Richard almost tripped over the stairs.  
"What?! But that is impossible---Richard is the youngest ----what is going ON!" Tracey practically screamed out the last word.   
  
Hakuba looked at everyone. "I think we better sit down for this."  
"Sit down? Ran and Kazuha are in danger, and you want us to sit down?!!" protest Shinichi and Heiji.  
"Well---it wont take too long, plus, Alice and John still needs them to force us to find the diamond.  
They wont hurt them." Explained Kaito.  
"Come on, we can get into the guests lounge and sit on the sofa for a bit. I am tired of all these walking." Said Aoko, half begging.   
"And its REALLY dark, I hate walking in the dark."  
"Really?" Kaito grinned "I kinda like it."   
"You are a freak." Replied Aoko.  
  
5 minutes later, they all placed the candles on the table in the guests lounge. Everyone sat down on the sofas and watched as the fire flickered in the dark.   
It created long, waving shadows. Like strange, weird demons dancing silently on the wall.   
The occasional thunder and lightening would break those errie shadows with its sharp lights, but it only deepen the horror that was inside everyone.  
Without realizing, Aoko and Shiho sat closer to Kaito and Hakuba. Aoko practically cuddle up with Kaito.  
Kaito smiled and did not say anything.  
  
Heiji and Kudou were sitting miles apart, both folded their arms, mouth formed a tight line and frowning. Shinichi stared at the candle light, deep in his thought. Heiji were staring at the floor with his crystal blue eyes. Everyone could see the frustration on their faces.   
  
"Lady Norferk was pregnant 7 years ago. It is still uncertain, but I think, she was pregnant with someone else's child." Began Hakuba in a deep voice. His very eyes were fixed on Richard. His face pale and grave. He turned his eyes towards the candle lights as one of them went out.  
"You mean----" asked Shiho, raising an eyebrow.  
"She had an affair." Replied Hakuba, re-lighting the candle and looked at Richard.  
  
"NO!" shouted Richard, jumped up to his feet. "This-this is impossible! Why---my father didnt say anything!"  
"He couldnt. It breaks his heart." Said Hakuba quietly. "He loved Lasy Norferk too much. He will not break up the marriage. Lady Norferk was full of regret. She begged for his forgiveness and to keep the child."  
"And?" asked Kaito, finding the story interesting and tragic. (trying to put his arm around Aoko`s shoulder at the same time.)  
"Well, lady Norferk died due to the miscarriage, but the child survived." Said Hakuba.  
  
"Mother---how could she--?" cried Tracey. Aoko offered a comforting arm and puts it around Traceys shoulder. (she moved away from Kaito, and didnt noticed the disappointed look on his face)  
  
"Well----who did my mother had an-an affair with?! Where is the child?" asked Tracey wearily. Wiping the tears.  
  
Hakuba sighed. "I really didnt want to say this, but it looks like I have no choice."  
"It was John." Said Heiji, moved his eyes away from the floor and looked up at Hakuba. "They had an affair."  
There was an utter silence. Everyone seems to be stunned by this.  
  
Finally, Richard fell back into the sofa. "What---it couldnt---it cant---"  
"Whoa----" said Aoko, speechless. "---whao"  
  
"Alice found out only a few months ago, or even less, I believe." Said Hakuba. "She was mad with jealousy and she hated John and Sir Norferk for keeping it a secret."  
  
"I think she had a confrontation with Sir Norferk, the day he died. As soon as I arrived and found out Sir Norferk had died, I asked one of the maid where everyone was that night. Alice, John, Henry and Anne were not at home. So I put my attention to them. It is only later I was sure that Alice killed Sir Norferk. She pushed him down the cliff."  
  
"Sir Norferk was old and full of sorrow, he didnt have a chance to defend himself." Said Shinichi. Join the conversation.  
"Alice dragged his body into the sea, hoping it will confuse the police for the exact time of death if they discover the body. She knows the longer the body stayed in the sea, the harder it will be to tell the time of death. So she might be able to make an alibi for herself."   
  
Heiji continued for Shinichi. "There was a high tide that night, so it washed away the blood on the beach. Also bring the body closer to shore." He shrugged. "Not a perfect murder, but close enough."  
  
"Well---just because my father hide the secret about John and my mother, Alice killed him?!" asked Tracey.  
"No, thats not it." Replied Hakuba. "Sir Norferk kept the child. Lady Norferk and Johns child. He treated the child just like his own, but he wasnt sure how to bring this child into the family. But Alice hated the child. She hate it so much that she---wanted it killed."  
  
"She is one twisted, sick, bi -I mean, witch!" said Kaito , stopping in the middle when Aoko was giving him the warning look which stands for :watch the words you are using!  
"Yeah, she is a witch all right." Confirmed Kaito.  
  
  
Richard buried his face between his hand. He moaned. "What---what happen? Whats next?"  
"Did---did she tried to kill Williams too?" asked Tracey.  
  
"Yes, because William found out about the child." Replied Hakuba. "Alice had an argument with William. Shiho and the rest of the girls saw it." Hakuba turned towards Shiho.  
"Can you explain what happened, again?"  
So Shiho went over what they saw on that afternoon when Alice had a row with William.  
  
"So," said Hakuba, when Shiho has finished. "I was thinking, why William? Why was he stabbed? The obvious reason would be because he knew something that will expose or threaten the murderer of Sir Norferk."  
"The same day he had an argument with Alice, he was stabbed. BUT, that was not the only clue. Remember when we were looking at that piece of paper from Sir Norferk? William wanted to tell us something important. But as soon as Alice walks in, he shuts up and wouldn't say anymore."  
  
"Thats why! William knew something!" cried Tracey. "What was it? What did he found out?"  
"Well----" Hakuba looked at Tracey, after a few seconds of silence, Kaito finally lost his patient.  
"Well? What is it? Get on with it will ya?"  
"HAKUBA!" shouted Shinichi and Heiji practically at the same time. "GET ON WITH IT!!"  
  
"Okay okay!" muttered Hakuba.   
"William knew where the child is. He found out about Lady Norferk and John" Said Hakuba. His blue eyes glitter in the dark.  
"He was trying to protect the little girl which we saw on our very first day when we arrived"  
  
  
  
*******************************************************  
To be continue------------  
  
  
Confusing? Well---this is a bit more complicating than I originally planned-- ^_^  
If you have enough patient, go back to the very beginning of the fic, I left little bits and pieces of hints in the whole fic so far. There is still more answers to this fic, (gee---I dont think I have written down half of it yet!)  
If anyone have any questions, please leave it in the comments board, I will answer them in my next chapter.  
Em------comments please! and there will be more action and gross stuffs! *grinning*  
(he he he---I am only half way through the fic!!)  
(is that good or bad news?) ^________________^lllb  
  
P.s. I am in a very chatty mood today----the next fic will be up soon, sometime next week----- =^0^=  
(okay, so I am not a very specific person----) *grinning* 


	15. No Time To Waste!

Hello, conan fans~~~  
  
How are you guys today? Well, I just came back from work and------(well, I will shut up before I bored you guys to death)  
I suddenly remembered I was suppose to write a fic today! LOL~~~ *dry laughs*  
Well---here it is----comments please~~~~~!! (Catz begging). Is there any improvements you would like to see?  
BTW, what sort of ending you guys would like to see? Sad? Happy? =^___^=  
  
  
Catz  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Moonlight Hotel  
  
Chapter 15  
"No time to waste!"  
  
  
  
  
"A girl? What girl?" asked Tracey, confused, annoyed and obviously depressed.  
"We saw a little girl on the first day I arrived, she looked exactly like your mother when she was little!" said Shinichi, eyeing Hakuba. It was a look of impressed and approval.   
  
"Hakuba along can solve this case!" thought Shiho, thinking how clever Hakuba is. But Hakuba was obviously not happy. He didnt have that proud and confident smile for a long time.   
"He blames himself for the death of Lousie and Mike. But it is not his fault!" thought Shiho. With out realizing, her face was frowning which looks exactly like Hakuba.  
  
"This is my guess for what is going on here. From the beginning till the end." Said Hakuba.  
Lady Norferk and John had an affair. Lady Norferk had a miscarriage and died, but the baby girl survived. Sir Norferk knows the baby was not his, but he was willing to take the child. He and John hide the little girl in this mansion-"  
  
"Wait, are you saying this girl lives in the mansion with us- for seven years, and no-one knows about it but my father and John?" Interrupted Richard.  
"Yes, this mansion is so big, it is easy to hide someone in here and it would be quit hard to find them, dont you think?"  
"----Poor child!" gasped Tracey. "7 years?!! That is crude! Why did my father chose to do that?!"  
  
"Maybe it has something to do with her looking so alike to Lady Norferk?" muttered Kaito.  
"It will breaks his heart every time he looks at the child, let along brining her into the family and see her everyday!"  
  
"Anyway!" said Hakuba, annoyed with so many questions.  
"Alice knew nothing about this until the last few months, I believe. So she was mad with bitterness and tried to hurt the child. Sir Norferk tried to stop her, so she killed him. Next, William somehow found out about the child too. He and Alice had a huge row, either him tried to stop her or he realised she killed Sir Norferk. She stabbed William that day, hoping to kill him."  
  
"So John knew his wife was going mental and didnt try to stop her?" asked Kaito.  
"Well-----he didnt know. Thats the thing. Until today, I believe. He had no choice but to follow his wife." Explained Hakuba. "As for Lousie, I think she somehow got an idea about the secret between John and Lady Norferk. Or she knew there is a child in the mansion. So Alice killed her too."  
  
"Actually----Hakuba---" started Shinichi. "I think I know where she got the idea."  
"You do?!" asked Hakuba, surprised. Everyone turned their faces towards Kudou.  
Shinichi hesitated, he looked at Kaito, who stood behind Hakuba. Kudou saw him shaking his head, mouthing the word. "No"  
"em----------forget it, its nothing, I am not sure. I will let you know later." Said Shinichi, waving his hand as a gesture of *its nothing*  
  
Hakuba frowned, but he quickly turned his attention to Richard and Tracey.  
"I am not sure why Alice, or both her and John killed Mike. But we are going to find out. I promise."  
"They kidnapped Ran and Kazuha to force us to find Pandora, I think. Alice and John obviously needs the money to get away from here. I dont know where the hell my dad`s officers are, they are either killed or drugged. *A bunch of useless jerks---I gota tell my dad about the efficiency of his police-----I hate my dad some times! -----*"  
Everyone watched Hakuba went into a mumbling state about how rubbish the police are in England.  
  
  
Heiji grinned and nodded to Hakuba. "I know how you feel, I told my dad the same thing all the time!"   
"ANYWAY!" interrupted Kaito.   
"I suggest we split up, to find the girls and the diamond, it will take too much time if we all go together, trying to find something. And time is what we dont have."  
"You got a point, but its too dangerous if we split up!" said Shiho. "Alice and John are obviously mental, blood thirsty killers. They might even have guns! Plus is too dark, and who knows how long this storm is going to last? We cant even contact the outside world."  
Everyone went quiet again.  
  
After a while, Aoko opened her mouth and spoke. "Well---I dont want to split up, but I want to save Ran and Kazuha.", the group looked at her.   
In the dark, Aoko seems so fragile and afraid. Kaito moved closer towards Aoko, he felt sorry for her.   
To Kaito`s surprise, he found himself wanted to hug Aoko and tell her everything will be all right.  
  
Aoko took a deep breath and continue, "I----I will agree to split up, because like Kaito said, we must save Ran and Kazuha."   
Kaito smiled at Aoko and said in a cheeky voice "So you agree with me finally, Aoko! You know I am always right!"  
Aoko gave Kaito a annoyed look. "Kaito, just shut up!"  
"But you just said I was right!"  
  
"Well----if Aoko is willing to split up, so am I." Said Shiho.  
"Well----I dont know, I ---I will stay with Richard." Said Tracey. "I want to help the two girls too."  
  
"Okay, lets see, everyone got a watch?" said Kaito.  
"Aoko and I will be one team. Tracey with Richard. Hakuba-----with Shiho, obviously." Kaito added the last word which caused Hakuba and Shiho blushed.  
"As for you two---------" said Kaito, turned his glance towards Shinichi and Heiji.  
"You two, are you two ready to work together yet?"  
  
"HELL NO!" said Shinichi and Heiji at the same time.  
"So I thought. How about, Shiho with Kodou, and Heiji with Hakuba. Sorry to split up you two Hakuba and Shiho, but I am sure you will be able to live with out seeing each other for an hour or so?" said Kaito.  
  
"Kuroba, you are going to get a big kick in the arse if you dont get rid of that cheeky attitude!" roared Hakuba.  
Kaito laughed and he grabbed Aoko by her wrist.  
"No time to waste!! Come on people! We will meet back here in an hour!!"  
"but-Kaito~~~!!!" shouted Aoko as she was dragged away by Kaito. Both of them ran down the long, dark, deep corridor.  
  
Hakuba sighed. "Well, like he said, no time to waste. We got to find Ran and Kazuha."  
Pair by pair, the group split up and went into different directions. Each person with their own worries and dark thought, they search endlessly in the dark rooms, trying to find the two missing girl.  
  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
  
Kaito and Aoko arrived on the ground floor of the mansion, with a torch and keen eye sight, Kaito started to search the huge lounge. Aoko stood close to him, her eyes wondered all over the place, scared and frustrated, she forced herself to looked through behind all the paintings.  
  
"What is the point, Kaito? Why do you want me to look at all those paintings?" asked Aoko  
"I think there must be some sort of secret doors, locks or even a room in this old mansion. We must find the entrance to it. Because that is where Ran and Kazuha will be, most likely." Replied Kaito, pushing a huge sofa out of his way and flipped over the carpet. Searching the wooden floor.  
He was very skillful and fast.  
  
"Kaito?" asked Aoko, looking at him suspiciously.  
"Yeah? What?"  
"Are you a thief or something? You are so ------ familiar with searching for stuffs, arent you?"  
Kaito froze and forced a fake smile on his lips.  
"No!!---ha ha *dry laughs* where did you get the idea---Ha ha---lllb"  
Aoko shrugged. "Just wondering. At least------"  
Kaito glanced back at her. "At least what?"  
"At least you are not like KID or anything." She smiled at him.  
  
Kaitos face darkened. He turned his face away from Aoko, because he didnt want her to see his real feelings. "Yeah----- I am not like him" replied Kaito quietly, the smile disappeared on his face and his heart was ever so heavy.  
  
"There is a stock room I think, next to the lounge. Lets go there." Said Kaito. "There is nothing in here." But Aoko didnt heard him.   
Kaito walked out of the room with a guilty feeling. His mind was too busy thinking some other business. He didnt realised Aoko didnt follow him. She was looking at a portrait of Lady Norferk.  
  
The woman in the picture was so beautiful. She has big green eyes that was full of sadness but her pink lips were smiling. She looked down at Aoko with the cold yet tender expression on her face. Her long wavy brown hair came all the way down to her waist. Like a white lily, she seems so delicate yet strong.  
  
Aoko couldnt move her eyes away from the lady`s face. Enchanted, she realised why Sir Norferk could love her so much. Yet she could felt the sorrow from just looking at this portrait.  
"I-must find her daughter. She is a victim too." Thought Aoko. She sighed. "Kaito! Look at this portrait! It is so-"  
Aoko stopped. "Kaito?" she turned and found herself along in the cold and empty lounge.  
Everything was still. Everything was dark and shadowless. Aoko could hear herself breathing heavily.   
  
At the same time, the lightning struck the mansion and suddenly the whole room lit up.  
Shadows, weird and wicket, like monsters and demons, jumped out of the wall and surrounded Aoko.  
Loud thunder crash pierced her ear drums. Aoko covered her ears and closed her eyes.  
  
But, with out any reason, Aoko suddenly felt an urge to look behind her.  
Slowly, she turned to face the wall.  
Aoko found herself looking at the portrait of Lady Norferk.   
  
The Lady opened her mouth and at the same time, she gave out a hideous laughter. The portrait was laughing with madness! Her hair was floating on air, she turned her face towards Aoko.  
  
Lady Norferk`s green eyes stared at Aoko and it seems to Aoko that she came alive. Beautiful and terrible, the lady`s pale hand reached out towards Aoko and Aoko, in horror, heard what Lady Norferk was chanting.  
"Danger-----my child, danger----!!!" widening her eyes, Aoko saw the desperation on Lady Norferks face.   
"LEAVE!!!!!!" screamed the portrait, the voice echoed in Aokos head. The shadows on the wall danced like crazy, lights flashing, everything was alive in the room.  
  
"NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   
Aoko let out a scream so loud, so horrified, she cried and collapsed onto the floor, and everything went quiet.  
Silence, still. As if nothing had happened.  
Aoko sobbed, and slowly she looked up at the portrait again. Nothing. Just lady Norferk looking at her. With her cold smile. Everything was dark, empty, lifeless.  
  
"What---am I going mad----- what is going on?!" sobbed Aoko, she stood up and got herself together. "It must be the lack of sleep and all those cookies I ate today." She muttered.  
Suddenly, she got a horrible feeling something really bad is going to happen.  
  
"KAITO!!!" Aoko screamed, forgetting all her fears and worries, she rushed out of the room.   
  
  
  
********************************************************  
  
  
Kaito was in the stock room, searching, looking for any sign or any clues to where the girls might be.  
Pointing the torch at different directions, he was getting more and more worry about Ran and Kazuha.  
"Shit----where the hell are they?" cursed Kaito, looking at the full stock room with cans, bags and what-have -you.  
  
  
"In the corner of the darkest room------" muttered Kaito. "Well, maybe I do have to go and get the diamond after all."  
Then, Kaito noticed something different about the storage room. The way it was arranged.  
There was several empty space on the metal shelves yet some sags of flour was on the floor. As a matter of fact, the whole shelves was empty..  
Kaito walked towards the sags and noticed the there was no dust on them what so ever.  
  
"Mmmm---interesting----" smiled Kaito, he bend down and looked closely at the floor.  
"Ah-ha!" his smile was broadened.   
Kaito grabbed onto the shelves and started to push it.  
"Come on----move you stupid--?!!"  
Suddenly sensing something behind him, unfriendly and deadly, Kaito stopped and turned.  
  
"What the-" said Kaito, as soon as he turned around, he saw a shining metal flash before his eyes.  
In that split second, Kaito jumped back, his athletic ability saved his face from being cut into pieces.  
But still, he felt the pointy sharp knife slide across his left face and pierced through his skin.   
"Ah!"   
Kaito hold onto his face and felt the wet liquid, and followed with the second whooshing sound, he saw from the faint light that the knife was aiming at his heart. It charged.  
  
Kaito swing his left arm around to protect his heart and bit his lips when he knew the knife had gone into his flesh. The person pulled the knife away and stabbed Kaitos stomach. So quick, so accurate.   
Cold, sharp steel is in Kaitos body. It hurts. It hurts a lot.  
  
Kaito held the cry and anger was now burning with in him.  
"Thats it you baster!" shouted Kaito, he grabbed the persons arm with his left had, which was still holding onto the knife then he swing a punch at the shadow with his right fist, and felt his hand hit the face.  
A grunt, the person felt onto the ground  
  
"KAITO!!"   
Kaito blinked, it was Aoko, she was calling him. Her voice sounded panicking and distress.  
"Kaito, Where are you?! Come out now you idiot!!"   
  
Kaito decided to grabbed onto this person who attacked him, but as he reached out, he head was suddenly spinning. He groan and tripped over.  
"Son of a -----!" he moaned, now he could feel his face burning up. He stomach was pouring out blood. He looked up, and saw the shadow staggered out of the room, from the way it walked, Kaito knew it was a woman.   
*Aoko! She might hurt Aoko!* Kaito thought, he struggled up and heard a scream. Aokos scream.  
Kaitos heart stopped. The thought of woman stabbing Aoko turned his blood icy cold.  
  
"AOKO!!" shouted Kaito, but his voice was weak.  
He tried again to stands up, holding his stomach, and that was when he lost all feelings and crumbled onto the floor.  
  
  
**********************************************  
To be continue~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Readers : how could you let Kaito gets hurt!!!?? *mad* (waving their fists)  
Catz : Sorry~~~~!!! But I couldnt help it~~~!!! (running away from flying knifes, vegetables and a   
nuclear bomb.)  
Readers: just how many people you have to kill? Eh?!!! You want the whole cast to die?!!!  
Catz : -----well, even if I want to, Aoko wont let me----  
Aoko: (holding a extra large butcher knife against Catzs throat) You got that right!!  
Catz: -------Hey, it took me 2 hours to type this fic today! So please bear with my grammar mistakes and   
Spelling mistakes and what-have you-----lllb  
Kaito : Aoko, make sure she is not going to kill me in this series!!  
Aoko : (smiling and nodded) Okay~~~!!  
Catz : Aoko-the knife----ouch~~~~~ 


	16. You are next

Hello!!! Conan fans Long time no see!  
  
Wow---I see I got some questions to answer! (Catz grinning)  
  
Okay---how often do I up date? Well, as often as I can, but roughly about every 2 weeks. I am working on fic when ever I can-----so sorry if I am too slow! _  
  
As for emailing people when ever I up date---isnt there a sort of "messenger" thing—y---that you can have? Or add my fic to your favourite---- (catz is very confuse now. There is a lot of functions I dunno how to use—lllb)  
  
A BIG Thank you to those of you who left some really nice reviews, (thank you, phoebe!!), they really boosted my confident and make me wana write more!! *kiss**kiss*.  
  
Ja ne!!  
  
Catz  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 16  
  
  
  
  
  
"Who---who is there?" whispered Ran with a shaking voice. "Who is laughing?"  
  
It was pitch black, Ran and Kazuha huddled together, feeling afraid and miserable. The laughing stopped few seconds ago, and they could not tell who it was or where it came from.  
  
They could only remembered that they were both attacked, fainted and when they woke up, they were in this horrible, cold, dark room of some sort. In the other word, they have no idea where they are.  
  
A soft laughing voice suddenly appeared when they were trying to find a way out of here, it was creepy. VERY creepy.  
  
"Ran----I think----was it a ghost?" whisper Kazuha, and both girls let out a scream and grabbed onto each other, face turning green (even though you can not see their faces in the dark).  
  
Then, the soft, almost whispering voice appeared again in the dark, this time, it spoke.  
  
"Why did you scream?" it said. "Are you scared?"  
  
Ran could feel Kazuha gripping her even tighter, "What did it say, Ran?" whispered Kazuha.  
  
"I ----I think it asked why we screamed." Replied Ran, she could understand English better than Kazuha.  
  
"Why did we screamed? What the hell it thinks? Because we are scared of course!" said Kazuha through her gritted teeth.  
  
"Where are we? Who are you?" asked Ran in English. "Where are you?!"  
  
There was silence, then the voice replied. "You are in one of my rooms. My name is Rosey, what is yours?"  
  
Ran blinked. "Er---Kazuha, I think this is either a very friendly ghost or a little girl."  
  
Kazuha nodded. "I know—it sounds so young!" she relaxed a bit more and said in English:  
  
"Please can we have a look at you? Will you come out?"  
  
then, Ran and Kazuha could hear light footsteps. And a bright light suddenly appeared in the dark, it shone straight at the girls, and they closed their eyes and used their hands to stop some of the light from shining onto their faces.  
  
After a few seconds of blinking and eyes watering , Kazuha realised it was the light from a torch. Someone was holding a torch and standing in front of them.  
  
But still they could not see its face.  
  
"Erm-----we cant see you, can you show yourself?" asked Ran carefully.  
  
The person turned the torch the other way round so the girls could see who was holding it.  
  
A girl, a little girl.  
  
She was wearing a black dress, big green eyes looking at the girls innocently, and her long, curly blond hair was down to her waist. The girl got a very pale face, but she have red little rosy cheeks and a friendly smile on her pretty face.  
  
Ran and Kazuha both got their mouths wide open.  
  
"Well---hello there!" smiled Ran, she walked towards to the girl. "Who are you?"  
  
The girl answered softly. "Rosey."  
  
"Where is your mummy and daddy?" asked Kazuha.  
  
Rosey blinked her greens eyes and answered "I dont have mummy or daddy."  
  
"oh------em, do you know where we are?" asked Ran again.  
  
"You are in the Moonlight hotel, in one of my rooms. I told you before!" giggled Rosey, then her green eyes suddenly turned wide and afraid. "Uncle John will come and find me, you have to hide or he will get angry at me! I was looking for uncle Norferk, I havent seen him for a long time, have you seen Uncle Norferk?"  
  
Ran and Kazuha looked at each other, they both got chills running down their spine.  
  
"Uncle Norferk ---he is ---well---not here anymore--- Im sorry---" replied Ran awkwardly.  
  
The little girls face looked puzzled.  
  
Kazuha reached out and hold Rosey`s little hand.  
  
"Can you show us the way out? We want to meet our friends, I think they might be still in the hotel somewhere." Asked Kazuha. "Dont worry, we will take care of you."  
  
Ran tried not to let out a laugh. "Kazuha, we were just afraid of this little girl a minute ago, and now you say we can protect her? Very convincing."  
  
"Ran---We cant just leave her here---I mean, we need her help, dont we?"  
  
Kazuha turned and looked at Rosey. "Will you help us?"  
  
Rosey nodded. "I will show you the way out, but you have to tell me where I can find Uncle Norferk!"  
  
Ran and Kazuha frowned, they are not sure who this little girl is, and how do they tell a little girl that Sir Norferk is dead?  
  
"Rosey-----do you know anyone else beside Uncle John and Uncle Norferk?" asked Ran.  
  
Rosey thinks hard and she suddenly remembered. "I saw a boy called William once, he was nice. He gave me sweets."  
  
"Great!" smiled Ran. "We will take you to see William, when you show us the way out of here, deal?"  
  
A light came onto Rosey`s pale face, she smiled and nodded. "Okay."  
  
  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Did you hear that, Shiho?" asked Shinichi.  
  
"Hear what?" replied the red hair girl.  
  
The two of them were on their way back to the guests lounge, where they were suppose to meet after 1 hour since they split up in pairs.  
  
"I dont---I am not sure---sounds like someone screaming." Replied Kudou, he looked around the dark corridors and frowned.  
  
"Yeah? Well, someone screams about every 10 seconds in the place, and its usually us." Muttered Shiho.  
  
"I dont like this, we have to meet up soon." Said Kudou, in no mood for a sarcastic answer. They turned towards the corner and bumped into two shadows.  
  
"AHHHHHHH~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed the group.  
  
"Mr Kodou! Gosh----you scared the hell out of us!" gasped Richard, holding up her sister. Tracey was literally on the edge of a nervous breakdown. All the nerve and emotion system are tightly screwed in everyone`s body.  
  
"What did I tell you? We are the ones who are screaming!" sighed Shiho.  
  
Kudou shook his head. "Have you seen Hakuba?" he asked Richard.  
  
"Yeah, they are in the lounge already, we just came to find you and Miss Shiho."  
  
"Hey, found anything interesting?" asked Hakuba, he came up behind the group with Heiji.  
  
"No, nothing, its too dark. We searched behind every paintings, lifted up all the carpets and moved several furniture, still nothing." Replied Kudou, annoyed and worried. Time is running short.  
  
They still could not find Ran and Kazuha, he hoped they are not hurt.  
  
"Did---did you put back the furniture?" asked Tracey. "after all, they are quite expensive. I certainly hope you did not scratch any of the paintings."  
  
Shiho saw the cross sign on Shinichi`s head (and his face turned to a strange, reddish colour), and saw him holding his fist tighter than ever.  
  
She grabbed onto Kudou`s fist before he could explode. "Yes, dont worry, we were very careful."  
  
Shiho lied. She didnt want to tell her that in frustration, Shinichi threw a painting out of the window. (and they certainly didnt put back any furniture)  
  
  
  
"shuuuu----listen, can you hear that?" interrupted Heiji, he held his hand up the staring down the stairs at the end of the long corridor.  
  
The group all tensed up and listened carefully. In the dark empty space, cold and eerie, They could hear a faint cry beneath them.  
  
"Kaito~~Kaito!!"  
  
The group froze. Richard and Tracey blinked slowly.  
  
"Its Aoko!" said Shiho.  
  
"Shit!" cursed Hakuba, he rushed pass everyone and ran down the stairs.  
  
Followed with more cursing and not-so-rude swearing, Kudou and Heiji ran behind him.  
  
"Just how much running we must do?" thought Tracey, annoyed and, of course, afraid.  
  
  
  
**********************************************************  
  
Aoko was wondering around the hotel trying to find Kaito when she heard some noise from the stock room.  
  
Still calling Kaito, she walked towards the room.  
  
"Kaito, come out now you jerk!!"  
  
Suddenly, the door swung open and a shadow rushed out. Aoko froze. The person had blood all over its hand. It was wearing a hooded coat so Aoko couldn`t possibly see its face.  
  
Then Aoko screamed as the person charged towards her.  
  
But thats all it did. The person roughly pushed Aoko onto the floor and ran away.  
  
Aoko landed on her back. Shaking.  
  
"What---who---shit!" cursed Aoko, she hates swearing, but this time she can find no better words to express what was on her mind.  
  
"Where is--Kaito---oh no!" thought Aoko.  
  
She scrambled onto her feet and rushed into the stock room.  
  
The light from the torch in Aokos hand revealed the nightmare.  
  
In the dark, crowned stock room, there, on the floor, lay Kaito.  
  
There was blood all over his handsome face and blood all over his blue shirt.  
  
Hes eyes was closed, his face was pale.  
  
Next to him, there was a knife stained with wet blood.  
  
"KAITO!!!!" Aoko cried, her first reaction was to NOT believe what she was looking at. (after all, Kaito did always scare her with his fake blood and silly magic tricks.)  
  
"Kaito---its NOT funny!!" said Aoko, walking towards the boy on the floor. Then she suddenly realised this is not a joke. Kaito didnt move.  
  
"Getup----please." she panicked.  
  
She kneeled beside Kaito and lifted his head onto her knee.  
  
"Katio talk to me! Please! Kaito, get up!Please-----dont die---Kaito!"  
  
Aoko puts her hand onto Kaito`s face, and lean closer, trying to hear his heart beat.  
  
She could feel his face, it was cold, and she couldnt feel his heartbeat.  
  
Aoko starts to cry, tears rush down her face. She doesnt care that the blood was now all over her clothes, she doesnt care that Kaito was actually resting on her laps, all she wanted was for Kaito to open his eyes and smiled at her and tell her everything is fine.  
  
She was shaking, and she thought to herself this cant be true.  
  
Aoko was so shock and panicking, she didnt realised Hakuba was now outside the room.  
  
"Aoko! Are you all right---what the---bloody hell, Kaito!!!!"  
  
Hakuba rushed towards Aoko and Kaito.  
  
"What happened?!! Is he---" asked Hakuba, Aoko turned and blinked in confusion. She felt so sick all of the sudden.  
  
"Help him Hakuba, please!" begged Aoko. "He is going to die!!"  
  
Hakuba looked pretty clue less for a few seconds, then he saw the rest of the group arrived outside of the stock room.  
  
Then came the cursing and swearing from the rest of the boys. Shinichi and Heiji kneeled next to Aoko.  
  
"Was he---- stabbed?"  
  
Aoko sobbed, "he—I think he was stabbed on the arm and stomach---but why--- "  
  
Just then, Kaito groaned.  
  
"Kaito!" cried Aoko with joy.  
  
Kaitos first few words was cursing about everything.  
  
Then he slowly opened his eyes.  
  
"Aoko---are you—are you all right?" he asked quietly, more concern about Aoko than anything else.  
  
Aoko smiled and nodded. Tears was still running down her face, and she was still shaking slightly.  
  
Kaito gave a faint smile, and he reached out to wiped away the tears on Aokos face with his red hand.  
  
"I am not—the knif----" he moaned again. "---the diamond—song----its here--- -- get it—and—Ran—Kazuha—here--" Kaito took a deep breath and felt the pain in his stomach. He whispered weakly "Aoko?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I ---cant see----I --wana sleep for a while---" Then he closed his eyes and his body relaxed.  
  
"KAITO!!!KAITO!!" screamed Aoko. "You cant sleep! GET UP!!" (for a second there Shiho thought Aoko was going to slap him)  
  
Hakuba grabbed Kaitos wrist and felt his pulse.  
  
"He just fainted, Aoko."  
  
"Did you see who did this?" asked Heiji.  
  
Aoko nodded. "I cant see its face—it was to dark---but—I think it was a woman."  
  
"We need to stop the bleeding." said Shinichi, worrying. "Where is your first aid box?"  
  
Shiho bend down next to Kaito and watched Richard push through the stock room, knocking things all over the place..  
  
"Our first aid box was here---where the hell is it!" Richard cursed. Then, he let out a happy shout.  
  
"Here!"  
  
He passed it to Shiho, who didnt waste any second to start bandaged Kaito with the help from Aoko.  
  
"Why ---did she attacked Kaito?" said Hakuba.  
  
"Kaito know where Ran and Kazuha is! Thats what he was trying to tell Aoko." Said Heiji.  
  
"Song-----?" said Shinichi, thinking. "song---"  
  
Then he looked at Heiji and Hakuba. All three of them shouted out at the same time.  
  
"THE SONG!"  
  
"OH MY GOSH!!!" screamed Tracey suddenly, she caused the whole group to jerk in surprise.  
  
Tracey`s eyes was wide and her mouth formed a scream, but no more sounds came out of her.  
  
"what`s wrong? Tracey?!" asked Richard, Tracey was standing just outside the room, and she was moving her torch back and fro down the dark corridor, worrying that someone might jump out and stabbed her or something.  
  
That was when she saw the writings on the wall. It was red with blood.  
  
"YOU ARE THE NEXT TO DIE"  
  
  
  
  
  
Everyone stared at the wall, there was just too much horror, too much murders. Aoko closed her eyes and wished to herself this is not real, it is just a horrible nightmare.  
  
"I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!" screamed Tracey, losing control. "I am leaving, I dont want to be in this damn house anymore!!" she cried, and ran towards the front entrance of the hotel, "I am getting out of here!!"  
  
Hakuba jumped and chased after her. (of course, everyone followed.)  
  
  
  
"Tracey! NO!!!" cried Richard as he watched his sister run madly towards the front door.  
  
"Tracey!!" Hakuba shouted, he ran after Tracey when he watched her tripped over and landed on her knees. Scrambled onto her feet again, Tracey was determined to leave the place, even though there was a storm howling outside.  
  
Throwing her hands to grip onto the door handles, she gave out a cry of freedom as she pulled open the door.  
  
A rush of wild wind entered the mansion, rain battered against her beautiful yet pale face, her dark hair was wet and stuck to her cheeks.  
  
She looked around and smiled. She was finally going to get out of here!  
  
She stepped forward and suddenly tripped over, landed on her knees, she looked down and saw a bunch of strings tangled round her right ankle.  
  
She gasped. It wasnt just a string, it was some sort of a trap, it was tied between the posts outside the front entrance and now, like an evil curse, the string wrapped itself even tighter on her ankle, it hurts a lot.  
  
Rain dripped down her face, her hands were wet and slippery, wind howled and thunder clashes.  
  
Frustrated and felt haunted, Tracey tried to untied the string when something made her looked up. She blink her eyes uncontrollably as the rain and wind attacked her big green eyes.  
  
Suddenly, the lightning revealed an ugly face of a gargoyle. It was one of the decoration on top of the roof of the mansion. It was right above Tracey.  
  
Its huge hollow eyes stared at Tracey. Its wide mouth was grinning at her as rain dripped from its mouth down onto her face.  
  
Tracey couldnt breath, she stared at the gargoyle, shocked and confused. As if the gargoyle was laughing at her, enjoying what it was looking at.  
  
"Leave me alone!" cried Tracey. "Let me go!!"  
  
Like answering to Tracey`s plead, it moved. Inch by inch. Bit by bit.  
  
Then it fell.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Tracey screamed, unable to move, the string was tangled onto her feet. She cried as she tried to pull her feet free.  
  
Richard watched in pure horror as the stone gargoyle landed on his sister.  
  
Traceys scream was suddenly cut off with the "thud" sound that landed on her body, along with the sickening skull crashing noise.  
  
Blood.  
  
Everywhere. All over the place.  
  
  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" cried Richard, he landed on his keens, mouth opened. Than a noise came out of his mouth, a moan, horrified, uncontrollable sound.  
  
Aoko screamed. Shiho gasped. Froze.  
  
Hakuba was just few meters away from Tracey as the gargoyle landed on Tracey`s beautiful face.  
  
Blood splashed around his feet. He stood there, unable to move.  
  
Stunned. Shocked. Blanked.  
  
Hakuba stood near the entrance and let the wind and the rain blew wildly onto his face. He cant move his eyes away from Tracey`s body. The gargoyle was big. It was heavy. It landed onto Tracey from her chest up. Her arms, her legs and her body. Not moving.  
  
Only blood. Which ran slowly down the stairs as the rain encourage it, rushing it. Like a stream of red river, it stained the white stairs with its foul colour.  
  
It will be impossible to recognised Traceys face, as it was buried underneath the gargoyle.  
  
Shinichi couldnt move. *This is not happening.* he thought.  
  
Heiji didnt move. Couldnt move.  
  
Silent.  
  
Only the cries from Richard and Aoko.  
  
It was dark.  
  
The only light source was the lightning itself. Each time it struck with the loud thunder, it revealed the nightmare, the scene from hell that embedded into everyone's darkest memory.  
  
The wind was howling, giving out painful cries that shook the soul of everyone who just witnessed this horror.  
  
This murder.  
  
  
  
************************************  
  
To be continue--------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
  
Readers: Okay, Catz, you are now officially a sick person.  
  
Catz: Hey! After reading too many Conan comics and Sherlock Holmes, I thought it is not THAT  
  
disgusting--------  
  
Readers: Not that disgusting?!! You are going to kill everyone, arent you!!  
  
Catz:---------  
  
Readers : Answer us!!! (got out their guns and a big cannon, aiming at Catz)  
  
Catz:---------well-----  
  
Readers: AOKO~~~~!!!  
  
Catz: (jerk in horror) Okay okay!! I promise there will be less killing—Gotta go (run like wind)  
  
Readers and the rest of the Gang (Aoko, Kaito, Shinichi, Heiji, Ran----): GET BACK HERE!!!!! 


	17. Forgot to take your pills?

Hello, conan fans---  
I finally update two chapters----I typed them yesterday and today--- I decided to try to do one chapter per day now, so hopefully I can finish this fic asap! ( I also spent some time to go over Summer Camp. Would you guys be so kind and leave some comments for that fic?) =^_^=  
  
Sorry for the delay guys! Forgive me!!  
Arigato for reading and have the amazing amount of patience for me this fic! Hope you guys enjoy!  
  
Catz  
  
  
  
Chapter 17  
"Forgot to take your pills?"  
  
  
  
  
Slowly, Shinichi walked towards the open door and shut it.   
Everyone looked blank. Pale. Horrified. They were still staring at the closed door, couldn't move.  
Richard was still crying, Aoko was still sobbing.   
  
Heiji walked towards Hakuba and puts his hand on his shoulder.  
"Not your fault" he said quietly. "She lost control and we didn't know there were traps. Not your fault, Hakuba."  
Hakuba didn't reply. His face was full of grieve.   
  
"-----We must find Ran and Kazuha before that two crazy nuts kill us all." Muttered Shinichi.  
"Lets go back to the storage room. There is nothing we can do right now."  
  
"You mean you are going to leave my sister laying there?!!" roared Richard in anger. "How could you-"  
"What are you going to do? That statue is far too big for us to move away, and we dont know whether there is any more traps outside." Said Shinichi wearily. "I am sorry, Richard, but there is nothing we can do for her at this moment."  
  
***********************************************  
  
The group returned to the storage room where Kaito laid, he was still breathing lightly, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. But he was still alive.  
Aoko kneeled next to him and held his hand. It was cold.  
"------he wont die, will he?" she asked quietly, afraid.  
"He wont, Aoko." Reassured Shiho, even though she was not sure herself. "------He wont."  
For once, Shiho was regretting why she didn't bring apptoxin with her.   
  
Heiji took out a piece of paper from Kaito`s pocket, and it was that two pieces of papers. One with the song, the other with strange writings from Sir Norferk`s will.  
"-----lets see shall we?" said Heiji, he laid it out on a large carton box since there was no table, and everyone huddled around it to get a closer look at the two pieces of papers.  
Hakuba held his flashlight closer to the paper. They all held their breath at that moment.   
  
  
  
"-------------------------------------- spell  
Looks like heaven but it could ---hell  
Every night when the demon call  
Its time to give ----- dying soul  
In the corner -------darkest room  
------- your most horrid ---doom  
There is no way out of this (place?)  
You will vanish--------------------  
For once you can never tell  
If this is a nightmare or its real"  
  
  
  
  
L.M1.M2.E1  
M1 *6**7*  
L *2* *4-F---*   
M2 *1* *5*  
E1  
---Wife  
  
  
  
"Okay------now we need to put this together, so it might make some sense, some how." Said Hakuba,   
"First, most of the sentences ends with L, expect for M and E, which is room, doom, place and trace."  
  
"Lets suppose L.M1.M2.E1 are meant to match with this song, since they are the last letters in every sentence of this song---- Hey, wait!" shouted Shinichi, he dug his hand into his pocket, frantically searching for something.  
"Forgot to take your pills?" shrugged Heiji, but Aoko quickly kicked his leg and gave him an angry look.  
  
Shinichi took out his pen and starting to add on the paper:  
  
L- Its time to give ----- dying soul  
M1- In the corner -------darkest room  
M2 - ------ your most horrid ---doom  
E1- There is no way out of this (place?)  
  
"Where did you get that from?" asked Richard, looking and frowning at the paper.  
  
"Well, since there is only these four sentence ends with M and E, it might be they are the most important sentence in this song. And combining with this code, we can see that the L was place before M1.M2, so L must mean the sentence right before M1, which is "Its time to give ----- dying soul""  
explained Kudou, smiling.  
  
"So---What does M1 *6**7* mean?" asked Aoko.  
This time, Hakuba smiled. "Its not as hard as you think. It means the 6th and 7th word for the sentence M1, which is--- Darkest Room."  
"DARKEST ROOM!!" shouted Richard suddenly, "I know where this is!" Everyone jumped because of the sudden noise.  
  
"You what?!" asked Heiji, staring at him.  
"The library, my father had always been calling it a "Dark Room" because it is right in the middle of the mansion and that is the only room with no windows."  
"That's it!" shouted Shinichi. "Quick, take us to the library Richard!"  
  
"Will everyone stop shouting already? I am on the edge of a nervous break down!" complained Aoko.  
"I am NOT going any where, I will stay here with Kaito." She said.  
  
Everyone stared at her, as if there was a little green alien sitting Aoko`s shoulder.  
"You are not?" asked Hakuba.  
"No. And why is everyone looking at me like that!"  
"Well---that is because I thought you might be afraid to stay here. There is a lock in this room. I got the key, we can lock Kaito in so no-one can get in. He will be safe, Aoko."  
"I am staying." Replied Aoko firmly.  
  
"In that case, I will stay with you." Said Shiho.  
"Really? Thank you---Shiho---" said Aoko happily. "I got nothing to be afraid of if you are staying with me."  
  
The boys looked at each other, and Hakuba said to the two girls : "Stay here till we are back. Here, have the key Shiho. you can lock yourselves in. Don't open it until you are sure it is us at the door, okay? We will be back as soon as possible."  
  
Shiho nodded. She took the key from Hakuba and watched the boys close the door.  
"----Hakuba!" shouted Shiho just when Hakuba was about to close it.  
"Yeah?"  
"-----be careful."  
Hakuba smiled. "I will."  
  
The door was finally shut.   
  
"Okay, now lock it, don't open it till we are back!" repeated Hakuba, and the boys followed Richard down the long and maze-like dark corridors.  
Shiho quickly locked the door. She leaned her ear against the door till she couldnt hear the footsteps of the boys anymore.  
She turned and saw Aoko sitting on the floor, putting Kaito`s head on her laps and softly stroking his black hair.  
She was so full of care and gentle, the hidden feeling she have for Kaito was exposed with out her realizing.  
  
"You know Aoko?" smiled Shiho. "Kaito is the luckiest guy in the world to have you."  
"I know." Replied Aoko with a faint smile. "and I am the luckiest girl to have him as my best friend."  
  
  
  
  
*****************************************  
To be continue------------------------------ 


	18. DOOM

Chapter 18  
"D.O.O.M"  
  
  
  
  
"Here it is." Said Richard as he pointed towards the library.   
"What are we waiting for, lets go!" said Heiji impatiently, he was about to run into the room when Hakuba grabbed hold of his shirt.   
"Wait! We dont know whether there will be anymore traps or not, be wary!"  
"Okay okay! I am wary enough!" grumbled Heiji. "Now can we go in?!"  
  
Carefully, the four boys stepped into the dark room. It was pitched black, they couldn't even see their fingers in front of them.   
"Now I know why my dad called this the dark room." Muttered Richard under his breath.  
"Er-----this might sound stupid, but what are we looking for?" asked Shinichi, after pointing his flashlight all the way around the library and decided he didn't see anything special.  
  
The boys stared at each other, (or trying to see each others faces in the dark.) then Heiji pulled out the papers. "I dunno, lets have a look------"  
  
L.M1.M2.E1  
M1 *6**7*  
L *2* *4-F---*   
M2 *1* *5*  
E1  
---Wife  
  
"So, we now solved the first two lines------ the third is : L *2* *4-F---*" said Heiji, pointing his flashlight at the paper.   
"On the sentence L, the word number 2 is ---time." Said Shinichi. "So something to do with time------mmmm----hey, Richard, are there a clock in this room?"  
"Yeah, a big grandfather clock. It is right----there." Answered Richard, pointing his flashlight at the far right corner of the room.  
  
There, stood silently, was a big grandfather clock. The dials weren't moveing. It looked so old and dusty.  
"It looks dead." Said Heiji straight away.  
"As far as I can remember, the dial has never moved. I don't know what my father didn't throw it away. It must be broken or something."  
Said Richard.  
  
"Well, I think we are about to find out." Said Hakuba, walking towards it slowly, because it was so dark. Everyone followed behind him. They felt uneasy and exciting at the same time. (especially for the detectives, they just love solving mystery!!)  
  
Shinichi and Hakuba both stood close and examined the clock, while Richard looked nervously around them. "I hope Aunt Alice and John are not watching us right now."   
"I doubt it." Muttered Heiji. "Hey, so have you two had enough with this clock?"  
"It is built into the wall, we cant move it." Said Hakuba. "So far, I cant see anything different about this   
clock compare any other grandfather clock----strange-----what is the next code?"  
"*4-F---*" said Heiji.  
"What are you talking about?"   
"*4-F---*!!! Thats the code!"  
"Right right, just kidding----"  
"How could you possibly have time to joke around!?!"  
  
"All right! Just---Chill!!" shouted Shinichi furiously "We NEED to solve the codes!"  
"-----" Everyone went quiet and decided to listen to Shinichi before he explode.  
  
"So the fourth word in that sentence is---Your" said Richard, looking at the paper.  
"Your? That doesnt make any sense."  
"F---, that might mean something." Said Heiji.  
"Look, there is three dots after F, so if we replace the Y in Your with F, and fit the o.u.r with the three dots if each dot means a letter"  
"That give us the word Four!!" shouted Richard. "Wow, you guys are brilliant!"  
  
"Course we are." Nodded Heiji. "Well, Hakuba and I am anyway."  
He meant to make Shinichi angry, and it worked. Shinichi glared at Heiji with anger, but Hakuba managed to stepped between the two of them in time.  
"Four, I suppose that mean four o'clock then?" said Hakuba quickly. "I am going to move the dials to four o'clock, okay?"  
  
Hakuba reached up to try to move the dials on the clock face but then he realised there was a sheet glass door to protect the dials. Next to the glass door, there was a little lock.  
"Damn, Richard, where is the key to open this glass door?" asked Hakuba in frustration.   
"I didn't even know there is a glass door!" replied Richard. "I have no idea where I can find the key for it."  
  
"In that case, I hope you don't mind this." Said Hakuba.   
With out a warning, he swung a punch at the glass door, and it shattered with the crisps sound of glasses.  
The boys stood silently with slightly raised eyebrows.  
  
"------Hakuba! Do you know how much the clock worth now that you broke the glass?!" gasped Richard.  
"No, and I don't care either." Replied Hakuba, he reached out and started to move the dials.  
"---------Gee---Anne is going to kill me!" Thought Richard.  
  
Suddenly, the grandfather clock came alive. The mechanic inside the clock started to move and rotate, then it rang. The loud, heavy, deep sound came deep with in the clock itself.  
The whole mansion went still and the gracious sound echoed between the dark corridors and hundreds years old walls.  
The clock rang four times and stopped.   
  
The boys looked at each other, none of them moved when the clock was ringing.   
"So-----it is not broken Richard, it still work." Concluded Heiji.  
  
"Look!" said Kudou, pointing his flashlight at the clock face.  
The numbers that indicate times on the clock sunk into the clock face, and some letters risen next to the numbers. They were the same colour as the clock face, and it was clear that they used to be level with the surface of the face. So it would be impossible to see those letters if they weren't rise slightly.   
  
"What are they?" asked Richard.  
"Letters. A, O, F, G, O, K, L, R, D, H, M, and H" answered Hakuba, leaning close to the clock.  
"I don't get it----what is the next code on the paper?"  
"M2 *1**5* and Awaits your most horrid doom" said Heiji.  
"So the first word is Awaits. Well, we waited didnt we, for the clock to ring?" said Shinichi. "So the next word is *doom*. That souldnt be too hard."  
"Try moving the dial to the letter D, O, O, M." Suggested Heiji.  
Hakuba moved the dials till it pointed at the word D, then he moved it to O twice, then M.  
Nothing happened.  
  
"Try to move the dials anti-clockwise" suggested Shinichi.  
So Hakuba tried.  
Again, nothing happened.  
"Clock-wise then!" said Heiji.  
Still, the place was silence and still. Nothing happened.  
  
The detectives looked at each other. "Are we missing something here?" asked Heiji.  
"I dont know, but what else can we try?" asked Hakuba, frustrated.  
  
"Why not try pressing the letters?" said Richard suddenly.  
Hakuba blinked. "-----okay."  
The looks on the detectives faces were obvious. *Why didnt I think of that!*  
  
So Hakuba pressed the risen letters down slowly.   
"D------.O.----O.-----M.  
The boys held their breath.  
  
A sudden loud noise busted out with in the wall, a deep, rumbling sound, the clock went off again with loud rings, grandfather clock starting to come alive!  
Hakuba jumped back, away from the clock when it started to shook slightly, to the boys amazement, the wooden front of the clock starting to move.  
Like a door, it swung open and revealed a black tunnel.   
Dusts, and a breeze of chilled wind came rushing out of the tunnel and blew onto the boys faces.  
Then everything went quiet again. The clock went dead. All that could be heard was the howling wind and rain battering against the windows.  
The cold and errie tunnel was in front of them.   
They solved the codes.  
  
"------I think you should be detective too, Richard."  
Said Heiji finally.  
  
  
***********************************************  
  
"Did you hear that?!" asked Aoko to Shiho, who sat silently next to her, stared at the locked door.  
Shiho nodded slowly. "Yeah----it came from the direction of the library--I think the boys are on the right track."  
"So---they will be back soon, wont they?" asked Aoko again.  
"I hope so." Replied Shiho. "They need to find Pandora first of all to rescue Ran and Kazuha."  
  
Aoko looked worried, she sighed and held Kaitos cold hand tighter.  
"Kaito is gona be so mad that he missed all those actions. He love mucking about and go treasure hunting."   
"------How is he doing?"  
"Not good----I-I dont know what else I can do Shiho---I ---"  
Aoko starting to get watery eyes again, Shiho held out her arm and put it around Aokos shoulder.  
"You have done everything you can, Aoko."  
  
  
A sudden noise went behind the girls, it came within the wall behind the shelves. It sounded like something was behind it, pushing, scratching the wall. It was getting louder and louder.  
  
Aoko and Shiho jumped up to their feet, Aoko stood in front of Kaito and swallowed hard.  
Shiho moved back slowly towards the door, and got the key out of her pocket.  
"Aoko---you know what we have to do, right?"  
Aoko looked horrified. "No---I am not leaving Kaito!"  
Shiho didnt say anything. She knew Aoko wont leave Kaito, so she decided to herself that if the situation should arise, she will do what ever she can to get Aoko out of the danger. Even if that mean Leaving Kaito laying injured on the floor.  
  
Louder and louder, the clicking sound came from the wall was the most scary sound to Shiho and Aoko.  
Aoko breathed faster and faster, her heart beats uncontrollably, her palms were cold and sweaty.   
"If only Kaito is all right! He would know what to do!" thought Aoko.   
  
A loud bang came behind the shelves.   
Aoko and Shiho`s eyes widened with fear at that moment.   
The shelves began to move to its right, taking a part of the wall with it, slowly, it revealed a tunnel behind the walls.   
It was a secret passage.  
  
A rush of cold air filled the dark stock room.  
Two girls stood frozen, stared at the black tunnel and was ready to face what ever will come out from the tunnel.  
Shiho wished she have a gun or some sort of weapons with her.  
  
There was a few seconds of silence.  
Footsteps.  
The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer from the tunnel.  
A shadow appeared slowly from the tunnel. It was careful and wary.  
  
Shiho pointed her flashlight at the dark figure.  
  
"---!!!???"  
  
A little girl, stood there, one hand reaching out to cover her eyes from the sudden light.   
Her big green eyes seemed to be as shock and Shiho and Aoko`s.  
  
"Who---are you?" asked the little girl.  
Shiho and Aoko was too surprised to say anything.  
  
Another footsteps went off behind the little girl.  
Another figure appeared behind her. Then another.  
  
"Shiho!!!" shouted Ran  
"Aoko!!!" shouted Kazuha.  
  
  
"KAITO!!?!!" shouted both of them together when they saw him on the floor with blood all over his shirt.  
Aoko and Shiho just opened their mouths. Still too shocked to come up with any words.  
"What happened?!" asked Ran, "Are you guys all right?"  
  
"RAN! KAZUHA!" cried Aoko finally.  
She thrown herself to them and cried.  
Shiho also rushed up and the four girls hugged tightly together.  
  
They are safe and finally got together.   
For now.  
  
  
  
  
To be continue--------------------------------- 


	19. Love Birds?

Chapter 19  
"Love Birds?!  
  
  
  
"What---who-how---where---" asked Aoko, she couldnt decide which question she was going to ask first.   
"Where is Shinichi? What happened to Kaito?" asked Ran.  
"They-they thought you girls were captured by John and Alice, so they had to find Pandora in order to free you two, Kaito was attacked by Alice, we think-who is this little girl?!" asked Shiho, looking down at the little blond hair girl.  
  
  
Rosey stood quietly at the corner, confused and afraid, she looked at Kaito with fear in her eyes. She has never seen blood before----  
"she-she is Lady Norferk and Sir Norferk`s child." Replied Ran, she bent down and gently hugged Rosey.  
"So she is the-----No-she is Johns child." Corrected Aoko.  
"What?!"  
"We will explain later, how did you get out?" asked Shiho to Kazuha.  
"Rosey led us out, she`s been hiding in the mansion all her life. There are loads of secret tunnels and rooms in the mansion!"  
"What shall we do now?" asked Ran.  
"Get the hell out of here." Said Shiho.  
"Get Kaito some help!" said Aoko  
"Get Hattori and Shinichi and Hakuba out!" said Kazuha.  
  
  
The girls looked at each other, there was just too many things in their minds now.  
They all went quiet and was still trying to calm themselves down.  
  
  
"Right, this is what we are going to do." Said Shiho finally.  
"We need to let Hakuba them lot know you two are safely with us. Then we need to get Kaito some help. We also need to contact the police."  
"We need to split up." Said Ran.  
"What!" said Aoko and Kazuha at the same time. "We just got together!"  
"I know, but this is our only option---or we could just sit here and wait for them to come back." Suggested Shiho.  
  
Silence.   
  
"O-Hell-No." Concluded Ran. "We are NOT going to sit here and waiting to be rescue by the boys-it is them who need our helps now. We have to split up."  
"I am staying with Kaito." Said Aoko. "I will try to get him out of the hotel."  
"Then I am going to find Shinichi them lot. Who is coming with me?" said Ran.  
"I will" answered Kazuha. "Where did they go?"  
"To the library----- be careful, I have a bad feeling about this." Said Shiho. "But again, this place gives me the bad feeling from the start"  
"How about Rosey?" asked Kazuha. "She is coming with us, isnt it?"   
Ran nodded. "She might know some short cuts that can get us out of here. Come on Rosey, lets go and find the boys."  
"Boys?" asked Rosey, blinking her eyes.  
  
"I will stay with Aoko then." said Shiho. "The storm is dying down, I can try to contact the police with my mobile phone."  
"Right-lets go then." announced Ran.  
Ran and Kazuha opened the door and went into the dark to search for the boys. Little do they know what was awaiting them.  
  
  
  
***************************************************************  
  
  
  
Under the ground of the mansion, the boys were walking in the long and errie tunnels. It was wet and cold, and not to mention the darkness that wrapped around them.  
"This place is like a maze." Said Hakuba. "How many right turns did we make?"  
"About---15?" replied Heiji. "anyway, all we did was taking right turns, we wont get lost that easily."  
  
  
"That is because we are walking around in a circle!" shouted Shinichi suddenly with annoyance.   
He pointed his flash lights on the wall, and there was a scratched mark on the damp and muddy wall.   
"I made that mark on the wall 10 minutes ago----this is not good."   
"So--- what do we do now?" asked Richard.   
"There must be some more clues in the song and the codes------the next word is E1---which is the sentence----" muttered Heiji, he took out the paper and looked again.  
Heijis voice trailed off into silence.  
  
  
"Well?" asked Hakuba.  
Heiji sighed and replied with some annoyance "There is no way out of this place."  
"Trust you to be negative and miserable, Heiji." Smirked Shinichi.  
"You baka, it is what it says on the paper!"   
"No way out of this place?!" asked Richard, he seemed to be afraid.   
"its just trying to scare us, we must be missing something in between------think carefully-------"  
The four boy then frowned and puts their hand on their chin, the typical detective pose for "I am thinking really hard, so dont distract me."  
  
  
They could hear the water dripping, running down the cold walls, their breathing, the errie emptiness around them.   
"------ any body heard anything?" asked Richard suddenly, he looked down at the long tunnel and felt a sudden chill ran through his spin.  
The sound of foot steps, echoing between the cold wall, crept closer and closer to them.  
"-----someone is coming!" whispered Hakuba. "turn off your flash lights!"  
  
  
Quickly, they turned off the lights and stood against the wall. The tunnel was about 4 meters wide, so if they are lucky and glue themselves to the wall as close and possible, who ever it was might just walk pass them.  
They held their breath, and listened, waited.  
  
  
Closer and closer, some dark shadows of figures appeared at the end of the tunnel.  
The boys held their breaths and looked. They were all ready to pounce on the figures if necessary. Every single nerve were screwed so tight in their body, it was as if any sudden movement will make them snap.  
  
  
Suddenly, the figures stoop just a few yards away from them.  
"Er----do you know exactly where we are heading?" a voice asked.  
"Yes. When I was a little, I got lost in here so many times, Uncle Norferk had to search for me and take me back to my room!" another voice replied with some childish accent.  
"I dont like this place! Why not just call for them?" A third voice appeared.  
"No! Shiho said John and Alice might be near, if we call them, they might attack us!"  
"Oh------so we just have to keep on looking for them----Heiji is such a idiot! If only I can get my hands on him-----"  
"So you can tell him how much you miss him?" the other voice laughed softly.   
"Yeah!--I mean, NO!"  
  
  
The boys looked at each other (even though it was impossible to see each others faces in the dark), and within the thirtieth of a second, Heiji and Shinichi both jumped forward and ran towards the figures. Before they could open their mouths and shout out their names, came the shrilling SSSSSCREAS from the girls.  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
Before Shinichi could do anything, he felt a kick in the stomach, and he felt flat onto the ground  
Heiji felt someone grabbed his arm and before he could say anything, a back flip thrown him on the ground and caused some serious pain.  
"Owww~~~~" the boys moaned.  
Ran was about to kick the Shinichi on the ground when Rosey pointed her flashlight at the poor guy on the floor.  
"What---you----Shinichi!" Ran cried, after recognizing the figure that suddenly jumped out in the dark and *tried* to attack her.   
"Heiji!! What are you doing here!----Oh my god, are you all right!!!" cried Kazuha, she was still in shock, but it was such a relief to see him again.  
  
  
Hakuba and Richard quickly show themselves behind the boys. After making sure they wont be attack again.  
"Are you two okay?!" asked Hakuba to Ran and Kazuha. (while trying not to burst out laughing)  
  
  
"Trust me, they are fine." Moaned Heiji, while Kazuha helped him up to his feet   
"Anyone who could do a back flip like that is fine by me"  
"I am so sorry-you shouldnt have jump out like that!" said Kazuha  
"I shouldnt-what?!" roared Heiji.  
  
  
"Shinichi---I'm sorry! Are you okay? I---" asked Ran anxiously, she felt so bad.  
Shinichi just looked at her. "I was worrying sick for you, and the first thing you do is to kick me in the stomach?"  
"I-"  
"I am glad, that means you are not hurt." Smiled Shinichi, he held Rans arms and looked at her with a care. But then the smiled disappeared on his face when he saw Rans forehead.  
"You got blood on your head-what happened! What did they do to you?!" asked Shinichi, all mad and worried.  
"I`m fine, really. Shinichi, lets just-"  
"How dare they do this to you! I am going to get them-"  
"Shinichi-"  
"I am going to make them pay-"  
  
  
Finally, Ran decided the only way to calm Shinichi down was by a kiss.  
She gently grabbed Shinichis head and sealed his lips with hers.  
Shinichi finally shuts up and he held Ran tightly in his arm.  
  
  
Everyone went quiet, Richard and Hakuba raised their eyebrows by several inches, and Kazuha automatically covered Rosey`s eyes with her hand. Heiji opened his mouth, but couldnt decide what to say.  
  
"I-am-fine." Smiled Ran, finally. "Lets just get out of here, please?"  
"---er-o, okay--." Agreed Shinichi.  
  
"Ok---ay---lets just hope that wont happen too often." Said Hakuba with a grin on his face.  
"What do you mean by that!" asked Shinichi, face red.  
  
  
"Lets just get out of here-who are you?" asked Heiji, he finally noticed the little girl.  
Richard stepped forward and saw the little girl. He looked at Rosey with a disbelieve expression on his face.  
"Richard-----this is Rosey. Your half sister." Said Kazuha, "Rosey, this is Richard. He is your half brother."  
"My----brother?" asked Rosey quietly. She stepped back and she didnt like the look on Richards face.  
  
  
Richard opened his mouth, but he didnt know what to say. All sort of emotions came rushing down him. Anger, hatred, pain, sadness were all flooding into his brain.   
"Richard-----its not her fault." reminded Hakuba quietly beside him.  
Everyone was worried. They thought Richard was going to lash out on the little girl.  
  
  
Finally, Richard took a deep breath, there were tears in his eyes.   
He looked at Rosey, and stepped forward. His expression was a mixture of grieve and anger.  
He bent down and looked at Rosey`s little face.  
Rosey looked at Richard, she was afraid, but she stood still and let Richard held her face.  
There was a few seconds of silence.   
"-----you look exactly like our mother, Rosey." Said Richard softly, he smiled, he almost choked while tears running down his face.   
"Dont worry, I will take care of you----oh god----I have a little sister!!" then Richard held Rosey tightly into his embrace.   
  
  
Rosey cried, she had never felt so safe in her life before. For once, she knew for sure she will never be along again.  
Hakuba smiled with relief, Ran and Kazuha had tears running down their faces. Shinichi and Heiji both smiled, even though they have about tones of questions they wanted to ask to the girls.  
  
  
  
********************************************************************  
  
  
  
  
"Rosey will lead us out, just follow her. She know this place inside out." Said Ran, looking at Richard holding the little girls hand. She couldnt feel more happy for Rosey.  
"Come on Heiji, Shiho and Aoko are still waiting for us." Hurried Kazuha to her best friend.  
"Heiji?!" she asked again, then she saw the look on Heiji`s face.   
It wasnt just him, Shinichi and Hakuba both had that look.  
  
"------what's wrong?" asked Kazuha, even though deep down she knew what was wrong.  
"-------I am not leaving this place yet, I want to find the diamond." Answered Heiji carefully.  
"I am staying too, after we found the diamond, we will come out immediately." Added Hakuba.  
"------I-" before Shinichi could say anything, Ran grabbed him by his wrist.  
"Shut up Shinichi, we are leaving, I dont care about some stupid diamond! We are leaving, Heiji, Hakuba, dont even argue, unless you want me to practice karate on you!!" command Ran.  
  
  
  
Kazuha smiled, she saw the look on the boys face, but she knew, so does Ran, that the boys didnt care about the diamond either.  
"---its not about the diamond, we dont want it. It belongs to Richards family." Explained Hakuba  
"We are not going to give up after all those searching---well, I am not anyway. You two can leave." Said him, looking at Heiji and Kudou.  
"I am not leaving, Ran, even if you are going to practice your karate on me." Said Heiji. He then stepped away from Ran, as if Ran will really suddenly kick his head off his neck.  
Ran stood there, she looked frustrated.  
"How about Kaito? He needs our help! We cant get out of here with out you guys! Shinichi~~!"  
"Heiji! Are you mad? How are you going to get out of here?!" asked Kazuha.  
  
  
Shinichi hesitated, he wanted to get out of here, to be honest, he already gave up his `detective appetite`  
ever since Ran and him are engaged. Unlike Heiji and Hakuba, the only reason they wanted to stay is because they are detectives, and they couldn't resist their curiosity.  
But he have a commitment, to Ran. He cant just go around places and get him or Ran into danger.  
(unlike before)  
  
  
But-----diamond Pandora. If it was any other diamond, he might tell Heiji and Hakuba to give up too. Pandora----the diamond that KID was so desperately searching for. Or, KAITO was so desperately searching for.  
Now Kaito is injured, and this might be the one and only chance to find the diamond, to find out why Kaito`s father was killed------to stop KID from stealing----and he is the only person who could do this for Kaito, after all, KID did saved his life before-------------  
  
  
"Ran----go, dont worry, we will be fine." Said Shinichi finally.  
Ran opened her mouth with disbelieve, but she saw the look in Shinici`s blue eyes. Determined, and full of `I am sorry, but this time I am not going to leave, no matter what.` expression.  
"-------I hate you." Muttered Ran finally. "Come back in one piece."   
  
  
"What are you looking for?" asked Rosey suddenly, everyone looked at her.  
"A diamond---or some sort of secret door. Hey, do you know any doors or rooms in those tunnels?" asked Hakuba hopefully.  
"-----yeah, there are loads of rooms!" replied Roesy. "About 50 or more."  
"----50?----lllb"  
"Well----is there one of the room that are different to others? Like, strange shape or doors or----lines on the wall?" asked Hakuba, not giving up.  
  
Rosey thought hard for a while, and suddenly a light came into her eyes.  
"----- there is this one little room, with strange writings on the wall, Uncle Norferk used to tell me :When you grow older, I will tell you what to do with those writings. Now is not the time."  
  
  
"Where is that room!!!" asked the boys at the same time, excited.  
"Down this tunnel, make two right turns and one left turn." Replied Rosey.  
"Clever little girl you are!" said Richard, impressed but how logical Rosey was for her age.  
Rsoey smiled sweetly with satisfaction.  
  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for, lets go." Said Heiji, he is very short of patient and already heading down the tunnel, walking straight passed Shinichi. He was still angry with him, even though the girls are back safe. Shinichi gave him an angry glare.  
  
"---Heiji!" said Kazuha suddenly, she walked up to him and asked   
"do you have the lucky charm with you?"  
"Yeah, I have. You just go back and take care of yourself, okay?"  
"--------" Kazuha wanted to say some more, but she didnt know what to say, she looked down at her feet for a few seconds, and finally made up her mind.  
Picked up all her courage, she lifted her feet and kissed Heiji on his cheek.  
  
Heiji just stood here(almost dropped the flashlight in his hand), and even in such a little light source, everyone could see how red his face was.  
"Im sorry I thrown you onto the ground----I------I will be waiting for you." Kazuha whispered, and quickly turned away, pushing passed Shinichi and Hakuba with her face blushing.  
"------er----okay----" answered Heiji, wide eyes and mouth opened.  
  
Ran giggled and said something to Kazuha that made her face even redder.  
"Richard, its up to you now to take care of the girls, get out of the mansion if you can. Be careful of Alice and John, okay? We still dont know where they are." Said Hakuba to his best friend.  
Richard nodded, and he looked at Hakuba with appreciation.  
"Saguru-----thank you---for everything, Im sorry that I-"  
Hakuba put up his hand and smiled. "Dont mention it, we will talk later when this is over."  
Richard nodded and said to Rosey : "Come on, lets go."  
  
  
Ran gave Shinichi another goodbye kiss on the cheek, and told Hakuba to take care of Heiji and Kudou.  
Kazuha waved a little goodbye to Heiji, both of them smiled at each other.  
The girls then starting to make their way back to the mansion, with Richard and Rosey leading.  
  
  
"Well, come on then, Lovebirds." Said Hakuba finally, waited till the girls disappeared from their views.  
He grinned at the two boys behind him.  
"What did you say!?!" shouted Kudou and Heiji at the same time.  
Hakuba just laughed and starting to run down the long tunnels   
"We dont have time to waste! Hurry up!!" he shouted.  
Heiji and Shinichi just had to follow him and ran as fast as they could.  
"Lovebirds?" thought Heiji while running "-----------Kazuha and I? Well----"  
He smiled.  
  
  
  
  
  
To Be Continue------------------------------------------------  
******************************************************************************************************************  
  
  
My first fic summer camp is completed! (whoohoo!!), plz go and have a read, and leave some comments! =^0^= thank you!  
Okay, now lets get this fic over and done with------(Catz typing furiously on her keyboard) 


	20. Shall We Go In?

Chapter 20  
"Shall We Go In?"  
  
  
  
  
"Whats that?!" Aoko asked with an edgy voice, eyes wide and listening to the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer to the stock room.  
"Shhhhh-----" said Shiho, she stood up and lean her ear against the door, tried to listen.  
They had been sitting in the dark stock room for more than twenty minutes, and every little noise made them nervous.  
Aoko couldnt help but to stared at the black errie tunnel at the end of the room. She felt as though a an evil spirit will suddenly jumps out and swallow her alive.  
She held Kaito tighter in her arms.  
  
  
  
The sound of foot steps stopped, and all was quiet.  
"-----Shiho? Its me, Ran." A voice went off on the other side of the door. "Richard and Kazuha are here with me, open the door."  
Shiho sighed with relief, she opened the door and was expecting to see Hakuba with the rest of the boys.  
But instead, there was Ran, Kazuha, Richard and Rosey.  
"Come on, we have to get out of here with Kaito." Said Ran.  
"----where is Hakuba?" asked Shiho, with her eyebrow slightly raised.  
"------they wont come, they want to find the diamond Pandora." Replied Kazuha. "Shinichi and Heiji insisted, we couldnt stop them."  
Shiho looked down, she tried to contain the anger inside her.   
*Why are they all so damn stupid?* she couldnt understand what was so attractive about that diamond.  
*Does Hakuba really believe that diamond is more important than our lives?!*  
  
  
  
"That bastard!" Suddenly, a weak yet angry voice went off , everyone turned around with great surprise.  
Aoko was looking down at Kaito, mouth wide open.  
Kaito was still laying on the floor, but his eyes were open, and he looked pretty----well, crossed about something.  
  
  
  
"Kaito!! You are awake!" cried Aoko with joy, she held the urge to bend down and kiss him on his pale cheeks.  
"Yeah, it will take more than a stab wound to kill me." Replied Kaito with a frail voice, then he bit his lips because of the pain in his stomach.  
"What is going on? Somebody fill me in." He asked.  
"Its a long story, we will tell you later. We need to get out of here, let me help you." Said Richard, he and Aoko helped Kaito to get up on his feet and they each held Kaitos arm over their shoulders.   
Kaito mumble something about "I want to find Pandora, how dare Kudou take it away from me----let me go and find it!"  
  
  
Aoko almost exploded with annoyance, she couldnt understand just what the heck is so special about this diamond!! Why does Kaito want it so much? It has nothing to do with him!  
  
  
"Just---dont talk, save your energy. Are the pain getting worse? Is there anything you think we can get for you?" asked Aoko, worried that Kaito might faint again.  
Kaito looked at her with a surprise expression on his face. He has never seen Aoko being so gentle before, she was being so nice and caring------  
"Yeah, give me a kiss, I know you love me really." Grinned Kaito to Aoko, he gave her a little wink.  
"------I dont,!" replied Aoko, embarrassed. "And just shut up Kaito Kuroba!!"  
  
  
  
****************************************************************  
  
  
  
"This is it." Said Hakuba, as he stepped into a small room after following Rosey`s instruction.  
The room was no bigger 4 meters each side, and Rosey was right, there were some writings on the right hand side of the wall.  
"Its not strange writings like Rosey says, it is English." Said Shinichi, looking at the wall, and using his flash light surveying the room.   
There were alphabets from A to Z, and number 0 to 9.  
"Maybe Rosey cant read, thats why she called it strange writings-------" thought Shinichi.  
"I think we have to enter some sort of codes again." Said Hakuba, putting his hand onto the wall and felt the writings were made of cold metals.  
They were like metal buttons on the stony wall.  
  
  
  
"The last sentence is this : ---Wife" said Heiji, looking down at the paper in his hand.  
"I dont get it, what does the word Wife mean?"  
"This is amazing!" said Hakuba, fascinated, unheeding to Heiji.   
"How could anyone make metals and stones works so well together? They fit perfectly into each other."  
  
  
"With modern technology" replied Kudou. He too was finding this interesting.   
"This means the wall were made not long ago, cant be more than 20 years!"  
Hakuba nodded with agreement. "You will need all the modern machines to cut through those rocks and fit the metals into them----------I wonder who did this?"  
Heiji shrugged "Who else? Someone is trying dead hard to hide the diamond, and as far as I can tell, it must be Sir Norferk."  
  
  
"So what do we do now?" asked Hakuba, thinking about the codes.  
"---Wife. So if we try to solve this codes the same way we did before, there must be three letters before the word wife."  
"-----that doesnt make any sense." Grumbled Heiji.  
"Hey, if Sir Norferk made this wall, then his must be talking about his wife here, is that right?" suggested Shinichi.  
"------yeah, so this code has something to do with his wife." Agreed Heiji (finally agreeing with Shinichi for the first time after their fight)  
"Lady Norferk-----Wife------" Heiji scratched his head, "Hey-----anyone know her name? All we have been doing is calling them Norferk."  
  
  
What Heiji said reminded Hakuba about something, he looked blankly at the wall, searching deep into his memory.  
"Richard told me before------when we were little-----"  
  
  
  
"DORA!!" shouted Hakuba suddenly. He looked at Heiji with his mouth opened, and he laughed.  
"Of course! Why didnt I think of it? Heiji, you are really clever sometimes!"  
  
  
"Eh?!" Kudou and Heiji just stared at Hakuba.  
Hakuba seemed to be overjoyed though, there were real excitements in his eyes as he jumped towards the wall and starting to press the metal buttons.  
"Oi oi, what did you say?" asked Kudou.  
"Dora, thats Lady Norferk`s first name! Think about it, if we put Lady Norferks first name into the code instead of the word wife, and if the --- is Pan (three letters), then we got Pandora! The name of the diamond!!"  
Hakuba explained with a great smile on his face, while pressing down the very last button on the wall.  
  
  
  
"Brilliant! Why didnt you tell us this earlier?" said Kudou, he was happy that they finally solved the codes, but he was a bit annoyed with the fact that he didnt solve the very last code.  
"What do you mean I am clever *sometimes*?!" asked Heiji with half moon eyes.  
  
  
Before Hakuba could answer Heiji`s question, they heard a very loud BANG!!!!, it shook their body.  
They could hear metal wheels turning within the walls, the clanking, banging, squeaking noises made the walls shook violently, the boys looked nervously around themselves,   
while taking small backward steps with out realizing.  
"I dont like the look of this." Muttered Kudou.   
  
Loud crashing sounds came up all around them, like the whole tunnels was going to collapse!  
It was like an earth quake happening to them underground, and it was NOT a nice thought when you know there is a great chance of you being buried alive.  
"Shit!" cursed Heiji. "You might have entered the wrong codes, Hakuba!"  
"No-Way!" Hakuba shouted back, he looked frantically around the room, thinking there was absolutely no-way he had entered the wrong codes. *how are we gona get out of here in time?!*  
Then his eyes caught something moving in the dark.  
  
  
"Look!!" he pointed his flashlight on to the wall, and to their amazement, the whole wall was moving back slowly, like a door. The heavy stone works made a huge grinding sound that was almost deafening for the boys.   
  
  
"Whao!! It is like Alibaba! We should have just try to say Open Sesame first." Frowned Heiji.  
"Amazing." Remarked Hakuba. He watched as the heavy wall stopped moving and left two gaps on either side of the wall, big enough for people to go through.  
  
  
"Shall we go in?" asked Shinichi. He had a very bed feeling about this, even though he knew what the answers would be.  
"Hell yeah." Said Heiji, "We better hurry though, the whole place is gona come down real soon"   
  
********************************************************  
  
  
"What was that?!!" gasped Kazuha, she could feel the floor vibrating underneath her, the rest of the group looked nervously around the mansion.  
"It sounds like its coming from the underground-------what is going on?" asked Shiho.  
"All those banging and creaking noises-----I dont like the sound of this." muttered Richard.  
  
  
  
"Oh my god, what is Shinichi up to?!" said Ran, her face became pale and she bit her lips to stop the urge to go back and find Kudou.   
They jut got out of the stock room and was now making their way to the back entrance of the mansion.   
It was risky, but they must get out of this place while they have the chance.  
Another loud crashing noise shook everyone, it sounded like part of the mansion was going to either collapse or explode.  
Rosey almost burst into tears, but Richard held her little hand tightly, and Rosey knew that he WILL takes care of her.  
"We must get going." Said Richard. "WE must get out of here."  
  
  
"--------------------" Kaito remained silence, he was conscious of what was going on, but too fragile to say or do anything. Richard and Aoko was supporting him to walk slowly out of the mansion,   
  
  
There was a strange light in his blue eyes as he looked out of the window.   
The storm has stopped.   
Dawn was not far away.  
Kaito face was pale, but there were a faint smile on the corner of his lips.  
  
*They have solve the codes, soon, they will have the diamond. Only if they can pass the final test*   
  
  
  
  
************************************************************************  
  
  
Mirrors.   
  
  
Loads and loads of mirrors, everywhere, on every single wall.   
Corridors, hallways, made of mirror walls, long, dark, and deep.  
There were not clean, sparkling mirrors, but old and dusty, because no-one was there to clean them. No one could for the past few hundred years.   
They had been waiting. Waiting for the day to trap their victims.  
Now they stood silently and their waiting was finally over.  
  
  
  
Hakuba, Kudou and Heiji stepped into a maze made of mirrors.   
The came through the long and narrow tunnels from the side of the wall, and now they were speechless.  
  
  
  
The only light source was their flashlights, which now was giving out weaker light because the battery was getting low.  
The light from the flashlights reflected between the mirrors, created hundreds rays of lights flickering on the mirror walls. It lit up the maze, but also created a gloomy and heavy mood. It was errie and cold.  
  
  
  
Hundreds and thousands of reflections of the boys were ALL around them.  
They could see themselves from every single different angles by just looking around.  
There was no end to their reflections, and it felt like thousands and thousands of eyes were watching them.   
Glaring at them.  
  
  
  
The whole place had a extremely errie, creepy emptiness feeling. It was dusty, and occasionally, a rush of cold breeze will brush past the boys face, sent shivers down their spine.  
  
  
  
The maze looked huge, and darkness was still all around them.   
The mirrors created false illusions of thousands endless black tunnels, tunnels which you could never get out of.  
Kudou looked up, and he could not see a ceiling. It was too dark.   
It felt like they were trapped in the underground, inside a twisted dimension.   
  
  
  
After a while of just staring at their hundreds of reflections and feeling they got themselves into a really deep trouble, the boys starting to walk carefully around the maze.  
"I hate this place." Muttered Heiji.  
"Hey, you were the one who wanted to come in." Replied Kudou.  
"Shhhhhh-----listen." Said Hakuba.  
Everything was silent.   
"The noises has stopped. I have entered the right code after all!!" he grinned.  
  
  
  
"This is the most creepy place I have ever been." Said Shinichi. "Weird, too weird."  
"I think its a great idea, what is more scary than being trap in the dark, complete silence, looking at hundreds and thousands of reflections and eyes around you,   
and the only light source is a tiny little flash light?" remarked Heiji.  
"I dont know, but I must admit it is scary to look at couple of hundreds Heiji all at once. Maybe Kazuha wont mind though." Laughed Hakuba.  
  
  
  
Shinichi couldnt help but joining, their laughter echoed between the mirrors.  
"Okay, shut it will ya? I can see thousands of you two laughing, and that is going to give me nightmares!" snapped Heiji.  
  
  
"We must stick together, if we separates, there is no-way we are going to get back together."  
Warned Hakuba.  
"Now we have to find a way out of here-----maybe the diamond is at the end of this maze?" asked Kudou to no-one in particular.  
"This is truly amazing----I wonder how long it took to built this place?" said Hakuba.  
"I dont think that is the most important thing right now" said Heiji. "It is amazing, but, I still HATE this place."  
  
  
  
After walking around for 10 minutes or so and making a couple of turns, the boys felt they are now in the center of the maze.  
The boys came to a left turn and Shinichi was walking ahead. He pointed his flashlight down the black *endless* corridors as he make the left turn.  
  
  
  
  
Two black eyes and a pale face were staring at him.   
  
  
  
  
Its face was evil and distorted. Between the dim flashlight, Shinichi could see the madness in its eyes.  
  
  
  
"SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Kudou, he jumped up and jerked backwards, hit Hakuba and Heiji who were behind him.  
"Whats wrong with you?" shouted Heiji, grabbing his own nose.   
Kudou head butted him when he jumped back.  
"You saw a ghost or something you idiot?!!"  
  
  
Shinichi blinked several times before he could took another step forward at the left turn, peeking down carefully again and look down the dark corridor.  
The eyes werent there any more.  
  
  
  
Kudou turned and looked at Heiji. His face was pale and he took a couple of deep breaths to calm down his racing heart beats.  
It was one of the most horrified thing he ever saw.  
Kudou swallowed hard and finally, he replied Heiji.  
  
  
"Worse. I saw Alice."  
  
  
Hakuba and Heiji froze.  
  
  
"They are here in the maze. They followed us."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To Be Continue-----------------------------------  
  
  
*****************************************************************************  
Thank you for the comments people! Yeah, I am doing a pic of Kazuha kissing Heiji right now, hopefully I can find someone to put it on their web site for me. =^.^=   
There is another website that has got all of my pics :   
  
http://absoluteconan.virtualave.net/fanarts/fanarts.html  
  
it is a great web site, owned by Hendra. ^_^  
  
  
Oh yeah, and just to let you know, I did mention about Lady Norferk`s first name in the early part of this fic (Dora), but I doubt anyone could remember it--------(grinning)  
Again, thank YOU for reading, and now I am off to type the next chapter la~~~~~  
(Catz tying at a super speed, smoke starts to appear on her keyboard) (Call 911!!!) 


	21. He Was KID

Chapter 21  
"He is KID"  
  
  
  
  
Ran carefully opened the door, as slow as she could.  
The door creek loudly as she pulled it open.  
Her muscle were tense and her mouth were dry, she was concentrating so hard, listening to any slight noise or anything unusual.  
She pulled the door open and jumped back away from it, as if a beast will rushed through the door and attack her.  
Kazuha went up to Ran to grabbed her hand and pulled her even further away.  
  
  
It all happened so fast, they hardly have time to say anything to each other, after they stood far away from the entrance and felt safer, they looked at the opened door.  
  
  
It was dark, and they could see the back garden of the mansion.   
The trees, fallen leaves, bent flowers and hedges, also the distance hills on the background.   
The storm flatten almost every single plants it could possible demolish, some trees weren't strong enough to withstood the test and now, they were lying on the wet ground.  
The grass was wet and the smell of dawn was not far away.  
  
  
  
The sky was still dark, stars were flickering between the high and grey clouds.  
The silver white moon were behind those clouds, only shown her light when the clouds unveiled her face.  
  
  
Nothing unusual, nothing fall out of the sky or off the building.   
  
  
  
"-----no traps?" said Ran thoughtfully. Frowning.  
"Shall we just make a run for it?" asked Aoko.  
"No. We need to take our time and exam everything." Said Shiho.  
"Why?" asked Rosey  
No-one replied, they all went awfully silent.  
"-----because there might be some traps that will hurt us, we have to be really careful first, Rosey." said Kazuha after some time, she didnt want to say what happened to Tracey.  
  
  
"Well-----I see no string, no strange stuffs going round here----- I will go and try to walk out first." Said Shiho suddenly.  
"What-wait-Shiho-" gasped Ran, didn't quit know what to say.  
"Don't worry----someone got to try first!" smiled Shiho.   
She pushed Ran away and gave an assured smile at her, but Ran grabbed her wrist.  
"Shiho----"  
"Look, Ran, you opened the door, now someone else have to walk through the door." said Shiho, she starting to walk towards the entrance.  
The group was silent as Shiho got closer to the door.  
  
  
  
  
"No-I will do it!" said a voice.  
  
  
  
"---Kaito!" this time, Aoko gasped.   
"Look, I cant let a lady do such a dangerous job, I will do it." Explained, Kaito, he was leaning against the wall, one hand on his stomach. Even when he was speaking, there were still this cheeky smile on his pale face. He never lose his cool.  
"Don't be stupid, you cant even walk!" argued Aoko. "Just look at the amount of blood you lost--If you are walking through it, I am coming with you."  
"What! NO-"  
"I will do it!" said Kazuha. "Let me do it!!"  
"No, let me, I have a quicker reaction!" said Ran.  
"Didn't I say I will do it?!" added Shiho.  
Then everybody was all talking at the same time.   
  
  
  
"I will do it, to save you guys from arguing." Said Richard finally, raising his voice so they could hear him. he put up his hand as a universal gesture of "No-use saying anything, so just be quiet and let me do it"  
So, everyone became quiet and stop arguing.  
  
  
  
Richard took one long look at Rosey, and he smiled at her.   
"Don't worry, we will be out of this place very soon."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Richard starting to walk towards the door.   
The girls huddled together, afraid. They dont want to see another tragedy, they dont want to see anything falling down or anymore blood.  
Kaito stood silently, he was just as worrying as the girls.  
  
  
  
Richard stopped right in front of the opened door, he looked around himself carefully, nervously.  
"Who would have thought walking through a door is such a scary thing?" he muttered to himself.  
  
  
  
The door frame seemed normal.  
No strings attached to anything. Nothing above him that will fall down.  
"Okay----here goes nothing." Said Richard, he stepped slowly out side of the house, and he looked nervously around him, waiting for something, anything to happen.   
And------------------------nothing.  
Everything was quiet.  
"Its safe!!" Shouted Richard happily. "No traps! Come out everyone, quick!"  
  
  
  
Ran, Kazuha and Shiho all sighed with relief.  
"Yes!" cheered Aoko, she grabbed Kaito by his hand. "Let get out of here!"  
Kaito nodded, but he does not seemed to be happy. Something tells him this isnt right.  
  
  
Ran was holding to Rosey`s hand, she walked passed the door just as careful as Richard, and as soon as Rosey was outside, she ran to Richard and hugged him tightly.  
Ran smiled with relief, they are all going to get out of this mansion after all, and she can finally get some help for Shinichi.  
  
  
Ran turned around and waved as Shiho and Kazuha. "Come on! We must get some help!"  
Just as Shiho and Kazuha was about to go, Kaito suddenly held up his hand. His intense blue eyes was alerted and a bad feeling haunted him.   
  
  
  
"Whats that noise?" he said, almost whispered.  
"What?" asked Aoko.  
"That clicking noise."  
"I hear nothing." Frowned Aoko. "Kaito----dont scare me like this."  
"No---listen!" insisted Kaito, he looked nervously around them.  
Being a thief helped him developed a above-normal hearing ability. (i.e. he could hear every little noise so if a police (mostly Aoko`s father) sneak up behinds him, he would know, have time to throw a smoke bomb to the ground and escape. ^^))  
  
  
  
His eyes caught the wet patio right outside the entrance. Ran stood there on the wet patio, she obviously heard the noise as well, because her face was pale.  
It sounded very faint, but it sounded like someone was trying to light up a lighter, or lit up a match stick.  
  
  
They stood frozen for a while, looking around them, trying to find out where the noise comes from. Dreading what is going to happen.  
  
  
The moon showed her face behind the cloud, and shone her soft light to lit up the dark and gloomy mansion.  
Everything was wet after the storm, but something was not right, Kaito stared at the patio where Ran stood.  
The ground was wet, yes, but the moonlight reflected a strange light on patio.   
Many colours, like rainbow, glittered softly beneath her.  
  
Than it disappeared.  
The moon was gone again.  
  
  
"The noise!" Said Ran suddenly, she pointed towards the door.   
"It comes from inside the door! what is it?"  
  
  
  
Kaito gasped.   
  
"RUN!!!!" he shouted, and with all his strength, he pushed the Aoko and Kazuha. "RUN!!!!!"  
  
  
  
"What the-" asked Aoko, but Shiho grabbed her hand.   
She knew as soon as Kaito shouted on top of his voice. She saw the strange light on the patio too.  
She recognised the clicking noise.   
"RAN!! Get away! ITS PETROL!!!" yelled Shiho on top of her voice.  
  
  
  
Ran jerked away, she didnt quit know what Shiho was talking about, at that moment, a sudden loud BANG!!!! went off in front of her, and before she had a chance to scream, a wall of fire rise and the heat hurts her face.  
Instinctively, she backed away from the door, covering her face. She could smell her hair burning, it caught some sparks from the explosion.   
  
  
The group watched in pure horror as the whole door lit up in a wall of fire, the patio was a sea of fire, the windows next to the entrance was catching the fire. The red carpet was slowly burning up.  
  
  
  
Alice and John planted a small device inside the door, once the door was left open for more than 10 seconds, it will starting to ignite itself, caused a small explosion.  
They also covered the whole door and patio with petrol. Knowing that the rest of the mansion will catch the fire very quickly.   
  
  
  
"AOKO!!RUN!" shouted Kaito. He pushed Aoko to encourage her, and at the split second, he felt the stabbing pain in his stomach.   
"Oh crap-" groaned Kaito, he bent over to held his stomach. He looked down at his hand.  
Wet blood.  
  
  
  
Aoko was too shock to react, but Kazuha already grabbed her hand and was dragging her.  
"We can make it before it lit up the whole door! come on, Aoko!!"  
"NO!" shouted Aoko, she waved Kazuha`s hand away and turned to get Kaito.  
"Kaito, come on! KIATO!!!"  
  
  
But Kaito was on the floor, he could not stand up. Blood was pouring out of him again.  
Aoko cried, Kazuha pulled, Shiho went up to Kaito, she looked down at him. Then she looked at the door, the fire was burning fast and furious, soon, it would devour the whole door. the curtains were catching fire, black smoke started to emerge, choking them, killing them.  
  
  
They have less than a few minutes to get out, otherwise, they will be surrounded by a wall of fire.  
They will be burned. Alive.  
  
Shiho bit her lips, she grabbed hold of Kaito`s arm and together, she and Aoko were trying to get him up to his feet.  
That was when Shiho heard Kaito`s frail voice. He turned his head and whispered into her ear.  
  
  
"Get Aoko out, I beg you. Shiho, dont let her died with me."  
  
Shiho froze.  
  
  
  
"Come on, Kaito, we can make it!" cried Aoko, looking at the burning door, between the fire, she could hear Ran, Richard and Rosey screaming their names.  
She didnt hear what Kaito said to Shiho, all she could think about was getting through that door of fire. With Kaito.  
Kazuha coughed, and she looked at Shiho, who stood up and walked silently next to Aoko. She nodded at Kazuha.  
Kazuha opened her mouth, thinking there was no-way she could do it. But deep down, she knew she have to save Aoko. She have no choice. She felt numb with horror.  
  
  
  
Kaito could not get up from the floor, he was too weak. So Aoko kneeled down and looked into his deep blue eyes.  
"Kaito----come on, we-"  
Kaito shook his head, and he held up his hand ( which had blood on it), to touch Aoko`s face. Gently, he held her face, so he could look straight back at Aoko`s eyes. Those big, blue watery eyes.  
  
"Get out, Aoko, leave me."  
Tears came rolling down Aoko`s face, "NO!"  
Kaito smiled, a sad smile. He held Aoko`s face closer to him. "You can be so stubborn."  
Then, he leaned close to Aoko and kissed her on her lips. So quick, so warm, so sudden.  
Everything stop in that second, Aoko closed her eyes and she felt Kaito`s warm lips on hers. It was so gentle.  
  
  
Then Kaito rested his forehead on Aoko`s forehead, their nose almost touching. He closed his eyes for a moment, because of the pain in his stomach, and in his heart. He was breathing heavily.  
He decided what he is going to say. Before it was all too late.  
  
  
"Im sorry---------about everything----about KID-----about who I really am--------"  
Aoko was shocked, confused.   
she stared at Kaito, couldnt understand what he was talking about.  
"I wont let you die with me." Said Kaito. "Because I-"  
  
  
  
A loud BANG went off, ceiling was getting blacker and blacker by the deadly smoke.  
"KAZUHA!!SHIHO!!AOKO!!KAITO!!!" the scream came from Ran, she was trying to get back into the mansion, but Richard was grabbing her, stopping her from committing a crazy suicide.  
  
  
Aoko felt dizzy, there was NO WAY she was going to leave Kaito, if he dies, she will be right by his side, she decided.  
  
  
  
But it didnt turn out as she wanted, or would have if it werent for her friends.  
Shiho and Kazuha grabbed her arms all the sudden, tear her away from Kaito.  
And with all their strength, they ran towards the door.  
They pulled Aoko, tried to ignore her screaming and struggling.  
"NO!!! NO, KAITO!!! LET ME GO!!!!"" Aoko cried, but Kazuha and Shiho woulndt let go.   
Tears came rolling down Kazuha`s face.   
Shiho turned to looked at Kaito for one last time.   
  
  
  
Kaito was sitting on the floor, his sad blue eyes met Shiho`s eyes. He mouthed something to Shiho.  
*Thank you*  
Shiho felt like a knife just stabbed her heart.  
Then the wall of fire came up fuming between the three girls and Kaito, the fire was swallowing up the mansion.  
Kaito`s figure disappeared between the fire.  
Aoko almost went hysterical.   
  
  
  
With their final strength and courage, Shiho and Kazuha rushed passed the burning door,   
They jumped, and heard a loud bang behind them.  
The force thrown them out of the building, and the girls landed on the wet grass.  
Ran, Richard and Rosey rushed to them and pulled them even further away from the door.  
  
  
  
Shiho sat up and looked back.  
The whole back entrance of the mansion was now in a sea of fire, black smoke risen slowly up towards the dark blue sky.  
Kazuha sat there, looking blankly at the mansion, tears came pouring down, showed two white lines on her smoke-stained face.  
She felt as if all the energy was drained out of her body.  
Rosey wept in Richard`s arms.  
  
  
Ran went up to Aoko, who was sitting on the wet grass, traumatized, paralyzed.   
She felt like she was about to throw up. Her head was buzzing and with out thinking, she struggled to stand up.  
She walked slowly towards the mansion.  
"Kaito----KAITO!!" she cried, starting to run, she wanted to get back into the mansion!  
  
  
Ran stopped her, she grabbed Aoko`s shoulder. Trying to make Aoko look at her face.  
Aoko starts to hit her, struggling again.  
"Let me go! Let me go and find Kaito!!!" she yelled.  
Ran was crying, but she wouldnt let go.   
"Aoko---Aoko!! Kaito is gone!!" Ran said weakly. "He is gone----please, Aoko---"  
  
  
Aoko coughed, sobbed, not sure whether it was the smoke or the tears that was choking her.  
She found it hard to breath, she couldnt believed what has happened.  
She stopped struggling and her legs just gave way. She sat on the ground, heart broken.  
Ran hugged Aoko, she sobbed.  
  
  
  
"He is KID-----I knew it----why didnt he-----" sobbed Aoko, her hands covering her face, everything was piecing together now. All these time,   
Kaito has been hiding this secret away from her, now she finally knew the truth. But Kaito is not here anymore, and she wont even get the chance to be mad at him.  
"He is KID-----"   
  
  
Slowly, Kazuha and Shiho came up to Aoko, they hugged tightly together, and wept long.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continue-------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
*******************************************************  
Catz: Okay, before you guys say anything----------( Catz putting on her bullet prove vest, helmet and jumped into the nuclear bomb shelter.) Now I am ready for your comments. =^.^=  
Readers: That is not going to stop us from killing you, Catz!!! How could you do this to Aoko and Kaito!!!  
Catz:---------I know-lllb but I thought That was *kinda* romantic?  
Readers: (loading their machine guns and got into their tanks), okay, now, SKIN COCO CATZ!!  
Catz: Oh-o.  
  
  
Comments please!! =^0^=  
I wont be uploading the chapters for the next two weeks, coz I am going to LA! *sorry* ^_^  
but as soon as I comes back, I will continue to finish the story. (hopefully)  
Now, when I come back, I want to see loads and loads of comments------*cough**cough**blush*  
-------plz? ^____^ 


	22. Shes Behind Us!

Haaalo Conan fans!!  
I am back from LA~~~~(Catz is all brown now with some serious sun burns.)(it hurts!!)  
before you guys read the fic, I just wanted to say a big Thank you for the reviews you guys left for me, I wasnt expecting to see such *strong* reactions!!  
I know how much you all hate me now!! (LOL)  
seriously though, I hate sad endings as much as you all do, so, please be patient and wait till the end of the fic, deal? ^_^  
thanks SO~~MUCH again for the all of your reviews, no matter what you guys say, I appreciate that you all took time and wrote your reviews. ^_^  
and now, I must get on with the fic-------  
  
P.S. some minor swearing in this chapter, so please be prepared! =^0^=  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 22  
"She's Behind Us!"  
  
  
  
  
"What do we do?" asked Heiji. "They are here, watching us."  
Hakuba and Shinichi bit their lips in frustration. "We must get on, because if we dont get the diamond, they will kill Ran and the rest of the group----" said Shinichi out loud. His clear voice echoed between the cold air.  
Hakuba and Heiji realised what Shinichi was doing, he was making sure Alice and John would hear him!  
"Yeah, lets find that damn diamond, give it to them and get the hell out of here." Agreed Heiji *out loud.*  
  
  
"But they are here watching us, so-----" scowled Hakuba, he leaned closer to whisper into Kudou and Heiji`s ears.  
"Look, they knew nothing about this maze, thats why they followed us in, so as soon as we got the diamond, make a run for it, we can get out of here before they do.   
Maybe they dont know that Ran and Kazuha are safe, they thought they still holds them captive."  
Heiji nodded, "and maybe they know, but they don't care about that, all they want is the diamond?"  
Shinichi sighed "Either way, there is no way out now, we must get the diamond. Then they will either come up to us to get it, or----"  
  
  
"Or kill us." Said Hattori quietly.  
The boys looked at each other. "Its a no win situation." Kudou held his fist tighter.   
*at least we are buying time for Ran them lot to get out of the hotel*  
He had no idea what has happened to the mansion.  
  
  
  
Fire, burning faster and faster.  
Devouring the whole mansion.  
  
  
  
"Lets go." Said Kudou, the boys starting to walk again, in the vast and gloomy mirror maze.  
They became quiet, between their own reflections in the mirrors, between the flickering lights from their flashlights, they could hear the constant footsteps, echoing in the cold air.  
  
Not theirs, but someone else's. Faint but fast the sound was, and when the boys stopped, the footsteps would stop too.  
It would go all quiet in the dark, and they could only hear the occasional heavy breathings and looked at each other in the eyes.   
They were being followed, and there was nothing they could do about it. It was extremely uncomfortable and errie, after all, they were isolated from the outside world.  
  
  
  
"Hey----what's that?" whispered Heiji after some more walking around. He pointed on the left hand side on the tunnel, he noticed a faint blue light, seeping through between two mirrors. It was faint, but it didnt escape Heiji`s eyes.  
"Light------sun light?!!" asked Shinichi, puzzled.   
Hakuba took out his pocket watch, and saw it was 5:46am. Dawn was on its way. He didn't realised how fast the time has gone. It felt like they have been only been there for less than a few minutes.  
"If it is sun light, that means the storm has stopped---finally." He thought. *That means Shiho will have the chance to get help with her mobile phone*  
  
  
So the boys all gathered around the faint light and saw the small gap between the mirrors. It was about a centimeter wide. Shinichi banged on the mirrors along the corridors, listening carefully to the sound it made.   
He then banged on the mirrors next to the faint blue light. It sounded empty and hollow.  
"Okay---this is it, I think. It might be a secret door or something------"  
So the boys started to search for gaps between the mirrors, and carefully feeling their way along the cold surface of the glasses.  
After several minutes of searching and trying to ignore the feeling of they were being watched, Heiji finally shouted out in frustration.   
"There aint no secret buttons or anything, lets just break the damn thing!"   
  
  
"Right, and exactly what do we use to break it? It is glass you know." Snorted Shinichi.  
"We can do what Ran did to you, kick it as hard as possible." smirked Heiji.  
Kudou was going to say something back to Heiji, but Hakuba quickly stepped between them.  
"No time arguing, we will do what Heiji said, kick the mirrors, okay? Mind you, the glasses might cuts through our skin, so we must be careful------"  
Shinichi and Heiji just glared at each other. Unheeding to Hakuba.  
"O-kay----not that I think you two care whether we gets cut into bloody pieces or anything." Sighed Hakuba.  
  
  
  
"Right---on the count of three-----" said Hakuba.   
The boys stood in front of the two mirrors, and were in their "ready to kick" stance. They did looked kinda funny like that. ^_^  
"One-----Two----THREE!!" counted Hakuba.  
Three legs kicked as hard as they could towards the mirrors.  
  
  
SMASH!!!!  
The shattered mirrors broke into hundreds pieces, the crisps sound of the glasses dropping onto the hard ground was so loud that the noises shook the rest of the mirrors slightly.  
  
The faint blue light flooded into the dark mirror maze and revealed a large room inside the mirror walls.  
Shinichi, Hakuba and Heiji stood there, heart pumping faster and faster every second, because they knew they have found it.   
They have found Pandora.  
  
  
*****************************************  
  
  
The room was big, at least fifteenth meters each side..  
There was a large sky-ceiling above the room, and that was where the light were coming from.  
The light of dawn seep through the ceiling and shone onto an object in the room.   
The atmosphere was so tranquil and it felt like the whole place was asleep, like it has done for the past few hundred years.   
In the far right corner of the room, there were a spiral stairs made of metal, it climbed higher and higher until it met with the open ceiling.  
That was the exit, that was the only way to get out.   
  
In the middle of the room, there were a statue, made of silver.   
When the mirrors was shattered, it stirred up a cloud of dust. Now the dusts settled, the boys could see that under the blue light of dawn, it was a statue of a life-sized woman.  
  
  
She was wearing a low cut dress, the long dress covered her body, but she had a beautiful figure.   
Her eyes were closed, and her long hair draped over her slender shoulders. Like a goddess she was.  
She had a single gold rose on her head as decoration. Inside the rose, there were a small blue stone.  
But that wasnt it, the woman was holding her hands up, her hands closed to her chest.   
Between her silver palms rested a huge red gem  
She was looking down at it, and there were a faint smile on her beautiful face  
  
  
The boys stepped into the room and walked slowly up to the statue.  
They stood there for a while, and looked at the woman with awe.  
"----Its lady Norferk-----Sir Norferk must have made this statue-------this is how I remembered her----elegant and admirable----" whispered Hakuba.  
"How could such a person-------" his voice trailed off, he didn't want to think about the affair between her and John. It was wrong, and he still finds it hard to believe.  
  
  
Heiji stepped closer and looked at the gem in her palms. He whistled and said "Wow----this is the biggest red gem ever, no wonder Sir Norferk hidden it so well-------"   
He turned and looked at Hakuba. "Well, Hakuba, I think you should do the honor." Said Hattori.   
He then stepped away, to let Hakuba took a closer look at the red gem.  
  
  
Kudou was walking around the statue, amazed by how life-like it was. He moved his eyes away from the statue's graceful face and he noticed the little blue gem inside the rose on top of her head.  
Curious, he reached out and took out the gem, it was about the size of a Ping-Pong ball.  
He let the gem rest in his palm, it gleamed with a deep sea blue light. Suddenly, he realised why this stone was placed inside the rose.  
"Could it be---------?!"  
  
  
Hakuba took a deep breath, and he said quietly to the statue: "Pardon me, my lady."  
He then carefully took out the red gem which was rested between the silver palms. It was big and heavy.  
And it too, gleamed with a bright red light, almost the colour of blood.  
  
  
Hakuba smiled. "This is it, Pandora------we finally found it!!"  
"How much do you think its worth?!" asked Heiji quietly.  
"I dont know---it is almost impossible to put a price on such precious gem------Richard`s is going to be so happy once I give this to him." Replied Hakuba. "It belongs to him and his family."  
  
  
*Not if KID gets it first* thought Kudou to himself.  
Shinichi stared at the diamond, he couldn't decide what to do. Should he take the diamond later for KID when Hakuba is not watching? Or should he just leave it and let Richard keep it?  
The main reason he came to search for the diamond was because he wanted to help KID, he wanted Kaito stop stealing and help puts an end to his double life. After all, KID did saved their lives.  
But-------------  
  
  
  
  
"So it does."   
A cold voice went off behind the boys.  
Then they heard a click. A very familiar sound to those detectives.  
A gun clicked behind them.  
  
"Shit!" said Heiji under his breath.  
Hakuba closed his eyes. He recognised the voice.  
Shinichi slowly puts his hands up, Heiji and Hakuba followed his lead, and together, they turned around to face John and Alice.  
  
  
"Well well, thank you boys, for finding the diamond for me." Grinned Alice. She was holding the gun in her hand, and John stood next to her.   
It was still dark, and her figure seemed to be mixed with the darkness that surrounded the boys, she belongs to the shadow.   
The boys could not see her face clearly, but they could see her evil eyes glittering, watching, judging them, like a predator.  
The boys remained silence.  
Hakuba glared angrily at Alice and John, he tried to control the urge of running to them and kick their butts.  
  
"You boys are clever after all, I am very impressed. Hakuba dear, dont look so angry! You said so yourself, the diamond belongs to Richard's family, so it belongs to me, doesn't it?" laughed Alice.  
  
"You know, I feel like kicking your butts." Said Heiji, he was more open with exactly how he feels.  
"You two are twisted sick bustards."  
  
Alice smiled, as if what Hattori just said was the best compliment she had ever heard. But John stood there quietly, he was looking extremely grief-stricken.  
He was looking at the statue.   
  
"Now, GIVE ME PANDORA!" roared Alice, she pointed the gun at Hakuba.  
"Any tricks, and I will kill you. You know how easy that would be for me."  
"%$^"&*£" cursed Heiji again.   
  
  
Hakuba held his fist tighter, he knew there was no point arguing, Alice was mad, as far as he can tell, and John seemed to be a dummy, just follows what his wife told him to do.   
He was angry, after all those searching-----was it for nothing?  
It was either the diamond, or his life.  
  
  
"You have no choice, Hakuba--------" said Shinichi quietly to him. "Richard is not going to blame you."  
Feeling like he just lost the most important battle in his life, Hakuba bit his bottom lips, and finally, he slowly took a step forward.  
  
  
"Remember, no tricks!" said Alice.  
Step by step, Hakuba walked up to Alice and steadily, he puts Pandora into Alice`s skinny shaking hand.  
All this time the gun were pointing at Hakuba`s head.  
Hakuba looked like a deflated balloon. He lost. he stepped away from Alice, and stood quietly with Kudou and Heiji.  
  
  
Alice held her breath and tried not to let out of a happy yelp.  
Her eyes shone with excitement and her pale face turned red.  
She stared at the gem for a few seconds, enchanted by its beauty---and its value.  
  
  
Then she suddenly remembered there were three very angry detectives inside the room too.  
She laughed, the laughter was full of satisfaction and arrogant.  
"Now I must go dear boys. Thank you again for finding the diamond for me!" she said as she gestured the boys to move away from the statue.   
"Now-----move over there----thats it." With the gun in her hand, she forced Shinichi, Heiji and Hakuba to stand next to the entrance, where they kicked down the mirror walls.  
The statue was behind her, and John was standing next to it, his eyes never left the statue's face.  
  
  
"As for your girlfriends------well---what can I say, they tried to escape, but I afraid at the end, everything will just turn into ashes-----if only they stayed in the hotel---"   
said Alice, with a cold smile in the corner of her lips.  
"Ashes----what do you mean!!?" shouted Hakuba. "What have you done to them?!"  
"Done to them? I have done nothing dear. It was them who opened the door----I must go now-----"   
Alice starting to walk backwards towards the stairs at the far end of the room, then her back hit something solid.  
She turned her face slowly and saw the silver face behind her.  
It was looking at her, its expression were cold and unforgivable.  
  
  
For a second, she thought Lady Norferk had come back to life, a sudden horror filled her body, followed by anger and hatred, she screamed and pushed the statue with all her strength,   
like she was fighting with it, hitting it and banging it with her gun.  
"YOU BITCH!!" she cried. "I HATE YOU!"  
  
With a loud crash, the statue landed on its back and it caused a dust of clouds, rising from the ground.  
Alice was still screaming at the statue lying on the floor:  
"I will KILL You!! I will kill ALL of your children, you hear me Dora?? ALL OF THEM!!!"  
The boys watched in astonishment, they just witness a real mad woman, losing control over a statue.  
"Geesh, this woman is totally insane!" said Heiji.  
"You just noticed that?" shrugged Shinichi.  
  
  
"What the hell are you doing Alice?!!" shouted John, face red. "You got the diamond didnt you? You promised me once you got the diamond, you wont hurt the rest of the family, what the hell are you saying now?!!"  
The boys looked at each other. This wasnt what they expected, they thought John wanted the diamond too, so he helped Alice to kill people.  
"You didnt kill anyone, did you, John?" asked Hakuba darkly.  
  
  
John looked at Hakuba, and there were real shame in his sad eyes. Slowly, he shook his head.  
"No---I can never kill anyone---I didnt know---If I don't help Alice, she was going to kill the rest of you and Rosey too---I cant let her do that!" John was almost sobbing.   
"I'm sorry---I'm sorry about everything-----"  
  
  
"Its a bit too late for that." replied Hakuba coldly.  
  
Suddenly, Alice pointed her gun at Hakuba. She was mad with hatred, like the statue was her ultimate enemy. But when John yelled at her, she stopped and took noticed of what the Hakuba was asking.  
"You are an annoying person, sonny!" she then eyed John with an unimpressed expression on her face.  
"We must go, NOW!"  
John looked at her with surprise. "What about the boys?"  
Alice shrugged. "Well, they will just have to die here, dont they?"  
"What?!" gasped John. "You cant leave them here, the fire will kill them!"  
  
  
"Fire?" asked Heiji quietly.  
  
  
"Just leave! Or you can stay here and die with them!" Snarled Alice. She starting to walk up the stairs slowly.  
John stood there, unwilling to go. He looked indecisive.  
  
  
"We have to stop her before she`s gone with Pandora!" whispered Heiji between his teeth. "But the witch got a gun-------"  
  
  
Suddenly, (To Heiji and Hakuba`s surprise) Shinichi opened his mouth and called out to Alice in his clear voice.  
"SO, Alice, I take it you wont want this then??!"  
He held out the blue gem in his hand, showing it to Alice.  
"THIS is the REAL Pandora. Alice. This worth ten times more than the red gem you've got." Smiled Shinichi.  
  
  
"Huh?" blinked Heiji and Hakuba.  
  
The expression on Alice`s face was indescribable. It was a mixed of disbelieve, doubt, amazed and shock.  
"What-----no-you are lying---how can you tell which is the real Pandora?" laughed Alice, but her voice was unsure and angry.  
"Well------we are detective, aren't we?" grinned Shinichi with a mocking smile. He then waved the blue gem in his hand, provoking Alice.  
"Oi------Kudou---I dont think making a mad woman madder is gona help-"  
But Hakuba didn't get the chance to finished his sentence, because Alice gave out a frustrating scream, then she pointed the gun at Shinichi.  
"GIVE IT TO ME!!"  
  
  
"RUN!" shouted Kudou. Then the gun fired.  
Shinichi, Heiji and Hakuba all ducked in time and they ran out of the room, with Alice running behind them. There were fire in her eyes, it was full of rage.  
  
  
"THAT WAS CLASS, Kudou!!" laughed Hakuba while running for his life.   
"Yeah, well, at least we stop her from getting out of here with that red gem," replied Kudou. Running and puts the blue gem into his top pocket.  
"and now she is gona kill us for sure when she catch us." Muttered Heiji.  
"Hey, you had a better idea?!!"  
  
  
The boys ran, they still had the flashlights in their hands, but it was all chaotic.  
They ran in the darkness with hundreds of mirrors surrounded them, lighted flickering into their eyes.   
They saw their own reflections, in the mirrors, the panic expressions, the sweat ran down their forehead, they panted heavily, eyes, searching for a way out, ears listening to any sounds that echoed in the maze.  
The air was getting stuffy and hot, Heiji found it hard to breath. He coughed.  
  
  
"What the hell------." Said Heiji, he looked down at his feet, and realised there were smoke, crawling beneath him. "Fire!" he shouted. "The nutters set the place on fire!"  
"Shit!" said Kudou, while coughing. "Which direction is the fire coming from? Cause thats the direction we MUST avoid."  
"They set the mansion on fire." Panted Hakuba, "We have to go back to the room, thats the only way out."  
"-------I hope Ran and the rest of the group got out of the mansion in time----" wheezed Shinichi. He couldn't imaging what if Ran didn't get out in time-what if the fire spread too quickly and she was trapped----what if-----------.  
He shook his head, and felt the sweat running down his face. His heart beating like mad.  
  
  
A sudden loud BANG and shattering mirrors made the boys jumped in surprise.  
They watched their reflections broken into thousand pieces, Hakuba felt the broken glasses, flaying out and cuts his face. It stung. The boys waved their arms over their faces, a natural instinct to protect themselves.  
  
  
Hakuba looked up around him, desperately trying to figure out where the shooting was coming from. While he was shielding himself, he saw Kudou and Heiji, standing close to him.   
Blood were running down Shinichi and Heiji`s face. He saw the glasses fell on top of them, as it drops, the sharp cold edges neatly and swiftly cuts through their skins.   
It left red, wet marks on their faces, it also cuts through their shirts and trousers, blood, trickled down their body.   
  
  
As he was watching it, he knew the same thing was happening to him.  
It all happened so quickly, but the images burned into Hakuba`s brain.  
Lights, flickering between the glittering glasses.   
It was raining glasses.  
  
The gun fired again, and again, and again. Mirrors breaking one by one around the boys, the crisps and shattering sound surrounded them, it was so confusing, so deadly.  
"She's behind us!" shouted Hakuba. "RUN!!!!!"  
"Back to the room?" asked Heiji, panting and running, he covered his head, protecting it, he could felt the glasses cuts through his hand. Wet, and pain. That was what he felt.  
"Yes, that is the only way out!" shouted Hakuba, they ran. As fast as they could.  
  
  
  
  
***********************************************  
To Be Continue----------------  
***********************************************  
  
  
Catz: well, this is a long chapter, but I decided not to split it into two chapters and upload it all at once. Am I kind or what?? (Readers:------lllb) ^_^  
What do you guys think of this chapter then? Reviews~~~More reviews~~~please!!!( 


	23. I Knew It!

*cough**cough* (Catz cleared her throat and was ready to write an essay)   
Okay, I have always wanted to try to write a story with a different technique, so I hope you guys wont have many problems with understanding this chapter. ^_^  
Well------read for yourself, and I very sure that you Conan fans know exactly which character is talking here!  
Enjoy the fic! =^0^=  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 23  
"I Knew It!!"  
  
  
  
  
I ran.   
I swear I had never ever run so much in my life before. My legs were aching, and my heart beat so violently I thought any second now, it is going to jump out of my mouth and I am going to drop dead.  
Sweat and blood covered my body. It was kinda gross. I know for sure that Kazuha wouldn't like to see me like this-if only I can get out of here alive.  
  
  
Kudou were in front of me, and Hakuba behind. They were running for their lives too. I guessed they were about as tired as I was. But the adrenaline were pumping into our bodies, it made us run,   
I never knew human can have so much energy when they are desperate.   
We were trapped in this freaky mirror maze with a mad woman chasing behind us. Not to mention she had a gun and she have no problem with shooting at us with it.  
I could smell smoke. The freaky woman also set the mansion on fire.   
  
  
I know that the mirror maze was underground, but sooner or later, there is a chance that the fire will spread into the maze and if by that time we are still in the maze, that would be the end of us.  
  
  
The thought made me panic. I ran faster and faster, ran past Shinichi. Okay, I didnt just ran past him, I pushed him.  
"Hey watch it!" he roared.  
"Shut up Kodou, you dont know where the hell you are going!" I roared back, but my voice were hoarse and my throat were dry as hell. It stung my throat just to speak.  
Hakuba came up to us, coughing. "left turn." He pointed down at the long corridor. "We are close to the room." he was bending over, trying to catch his breath.   
"How do you know?" Kudou and I asked, unwilling to listen to anyone right now.  
  
  
  
"JUST TURN LEFT, BLOODY HELL!!" roared Hakuba. His head expanded bigger than average.  
Kudou and I decided it was best not to argue with Hakuba when he is angry, so we walked, when we were about to make a left turn, the gun fire at us again. We ducked instinctively, as if we were fast enough to avoid a bullet.  
"How the hell does she do it?!" I said. "We just cant lose her in here, can we?!"  
"She knows where we are because you kept on talking!" snapped Kudou at me.  
I wanted to argue back, but decided not to in case what he said was true.  
  
  
Kudou and I are still angry at each other. I am not sure why though.  
Kazuha and Ran are safe, I hope. So I really shouldn't be angry at him anymore. I know we both have a bad attitude and are unwilling to say sorry. But why the hell should I say sorry?  
He called me a loser, a jerk and even punched me in the face. Yeah, I did punched him first I know, but he shouldn't called me a loser in the first place.  
  
  
After Toyama and Ran escaped, Kudou and I were still bickering with each other, glaring at each other and Hakuba had to keep on stopping us.   
I guess it was his attitude and my attitude. Our personality. We are two very different people. Kudou seemed to be a very proud and confident person. He is polite, caring (sometimes), and I will admit he is clever.   
But he also likes to act cool. Especially in front of Ran.  
  
  
Me? I do what I like, say what I like and do things my way. If I dont like someone, I will let them know.  
One thing for sure though, we are both unwilling to admit when we are wrong about something. Especially when we thinks the other person is at much fault as ourselves.  
  
  
I know him too well. We been through a hell of a lot together. We helped each other out so many times, we saved each other lives-----but I aint going to say I'm sorry. I guess this is a guys things.  
  
  
Wait---something cought my eyes--------  
"Here it is!" I shouted. I saw the light, sun light, lit up the ground. Loads and loads of broken glasses.  
Then the ground shook. Literally.  
We stumbled all over the place, and the loud crashing sound were all around us.  
Sand, stone and mirrors collapsed, smoke and dust rose up to our faces. A rush of hot air blew into us, made it difficult to breath.  
  
  
"The place is coming down!" shouted Kudou.  
He was right about that, the whole maze was falling apart. I dont know how and I dont know why, but it must have something to do with us entering the codes. There was all sort of secret doors, traps and mechanic in this maze.   
This place was designed to self destruct, along with who ever took Pandora.   
  
  
With out thinking twice, we all entered the room and ran to the spiral stairs. The stairs were narrow so we had to go on one by one. With great difficulty, we climbed the stairs on all fours. I looked up.   
It was a long way up, the stairs weren't exactly strong, and it wobbled everytime another wall collapsed in the maze.  
"The ceiling." Gasped Hakuba. He was in front of me and Kudou.  
I looked hard at the ceiling, it was dark and dust were every where. But something was moving, and I realised there was a person looking down at me.  
It was me.  
The ceiling were made of mirrors too!  
"Sir Norferk must be obsessed with mirrors" I mumbled.  
I also noticed I looked terribly ---well, wounded and dirty. Blood covered half my face, along with dust and sweat. My clothes was all dirty and ripped. Scratches and cuts were all over my body.  
*Oh~ I wont be able to move for another two weeks after this!* I thought.   
Then again, Kudou and Hakuba looked about the same, dirty and wounded.  
  
  
  
It was when we were about half way through the stairs I asked the question what was in everyone's mind.  
"How about Alice?"  
Hakuba stopped and looked down at me. "---------if she cant get out of here, then the policemen can retrieve Pandora when this is over."  
We went silent.   
If she dies, the police can always dig out her body and find the Pandora later. If she gets out of here alive, then we might never get Pandora back.  
It aint right. But what else could we do?  
Hakuba looked extremely sad, I think we all did. We felt guilty. We shouldn't, really, after all, the woman killed so many people. Her family.  
But------------------------  
We kept going.  
  
  
Sun light, shone into my eyes. I half closed my eyes, trying to adjust and get used to the light.  
After several hours in the dark, I found it difficult to open my eyes when the light were so bright.  
We were on top of the stairs, Hakuba struggled and pushed himself. He reached for the large hole above him, the only exit. He grabbed the edge of the hole with his hands. With a grunt, he lifted himself up.  
I came up to him and gave him a pushed on his legs.  
He was out.  
  
  
Second later, his head appeared above me and reached down to give me his hand. I grabbed his hand and with the rest of my strength, I tried to lift myself up.  
Hakuba grabbed me roughly and with my legs kicking at the air, I was out of the room.   
Kudou didn't help me.  
  
  
I really just wanted to collapse and sleep for about a year or two, I was too overwhelmed to do anything right then.  
  
  
I was on top the of mansion.   
I was outside.   
It was a very BIG area, with several impressively large chimneys at the middle. Smoke were rising out of there too.  
The exit was a few meters away from the chimney, other than that, it was just a big, empty space.  
There were short walls built all the way around the mansion. But they were only about few feet high, anyone could jump over easily.  
  
I could see the dark sea, the orangey sun, the purple and blue sky. I saw the green hills and dark green forest that surrounded the hotel.  
  
I also saw the fire that slowly creep up around the hotel.   
Fire was spreading fast. Black smoke slowly covered the sky.  
I coughed and cursed. In less than a few minutes, the fire would swallow us.  
I walked slowly to the edge of the mansion and looked down.  
Black smoke rose up from the windows beneath me and rushed into my face, it stung my eyes, I covered my face and tried to see from the gaps between my fingers.  
It was a LONG way down. I could see the wet, green lawn.  
The grass must be soft and thick, but I am pretty sure it wont stop the gravity from killing us when we jump down from the top of the mansion.  
I jumped away and turned a pair of watery eyes to look at my friends.   
  
  
Hakuba was helping Kudou to get out of the maze, he pulled hard, and finally, Kudou was out.   
I didn't help him either.  
Both of them panted, sitting on the ground and looking exhausted.  
"Thanks for the help, Heiji!" said Shinichi bitterly, staring at me.  
"You are welcome." I replied. Then I looked at them. "Well, all we have to do now is jump."  
  
  
"Jump?!" Kodou`s eyes went big and round. "We finally got out of the maze, because we wanted to live. Now you suggest we all suicide together?"  
"What else can we do?!" I asked.  
"Anything but that!"  
"You are such a pain in the---"  
  
  
"Wait!! Shut it you two----I remember----" muttered Hakuba, he stood up, looking around him. He seemed to be a bit confused, trying to figure out where we were.  
Kudou and I just stared at him.  
He then walked slowly to the west side of the mansion. He lean over to look down, coughed because of the smoke, and seconds later, he let out a happy shout.  
"I KNEW IT!"  
Quickly, he turned and waved at us, pointing down at something. "Look!"  
Kudou and I went up to him and looked.  
There was a pond beneath us, it was a big pound and it seemed to be very deep.  
The pond was very full after the big storm last night.  
  
  
"I noticed the pond when I was surveying the whole building. I thought this pond was way too close to the mansion, and I wondered why.   
Now we know! It was designed to be closed to the mansion so people could jumped down and escaped the building before it collapse!"   
Kudou and I just stared at Hakuba.  
"You mean you want us to jump 30 meters down into the water?"  
"Yeah."  
"Bloody hell Hakuba! We are not Olympic divers!"  
"How else are we going to escape the building?!" he asked. He has a point.  
  
  
The three of us stood there, contemplating. I could feel the cold and hot wind blowing into my face. The fire will reach the top of the mansion in just a few minutes.  
I looked up into the sky, between the black smoke, I could see the sun. It getting higher and higher into the sky, how long have we been here? Cant be more than a few minutes.  
I felt dizzy and tired. So tired----------  
I thought of Kazuha.   
What is she doing now? Is she safely out of the mansion? What if she is still in the mansion, what if she didnt get out in time?   
Will I ever see her again?   
Something was in my throat, and my eyes went watery again. I think it was because of the smoke---------I dont know--------  
  
  
I have to jump, I want to see Kazuha again.  
I am not going to die here.  
  
  
I turned and looked at Kudou and Hakuba. They had watery eyes too. Was it because of the smoke?  
  
  
  
  
  
"GIVE IT TO ME!!"   
  
  
A scream went off behind us.  
We didn't even need to look back to know it was Alice.  
*She is still alive?!* I thought, amazed.  
  
  
She pointed the gun at us, hands shaking. She was tired and dirty, but she didnt have as many wounds as us.  
We were close to the edge of the building. She stood next to the exit, there was about eight, nine meters between us. If only we can---------  
"Dont even think about it! Move away from the edge, otherwise I will kill all of you right now!" she ordered.  
Reluctantly, Hakuba and I moved away. No chance of jumping off the building then.  
Shinichi didnt move.  
  
  
Alice then glared at Shinichi. Anger and hatred were in her eyes.   
"You! Give it to me, now!" she shouted.  
Shinichi bit his lips. I could tell that he ran out of ideas. But he is a stubborn person, refusing to give up.  
  
  
After a few seconds of silence, Shinichi finally opened his dry mouth.  
"I havent got the diamond any more." He said calmly. "I lost it."  
Alice looked at him with disbelieve. So did Hakuba and I. Then Alice barked a laugh.  
"And you think I will believe that?!"  
  
  
Shinichi reached into his top pocket, and I noticed it was flat. I saw him put the blue gem into this top pocket when we were in the maze! He really lost it! What an idiot!  
Hakuba and I had our mouths wide opened with shock. Alice saw our expression, and she realised it wasn't acting.  
"AHH!!" she screamed with frustration, panting, face paled. She grabbed her head as if was going to explode.  
We all just stood there, watching her, not moving. Waiting to see what she is going to do. To us.  
After a few seconds of silence, she raised her head slowly, eyes staring at us with hatred.   
  
  
A cold smile appeared on the corner of her lisp.  
"I WILL kill you, but I am not going to let you die so quickly by shooting you, Kudou." She smirked.  
"You will suffer before you die------Get back into the maze!!"  
  
  
"What?!" I shouted.  
"GET BACK IN THERE!" she roared. "Otherwise I am going to kill your friends!"  
"You are going to kill us anyway!" I said, and looked at Kudou. "Dont listen to her!"  
Shinichi`s face was pale, but he didn't move. *I rather she shoot me than go back into that maze.*  
I could tell that was what he was thinking.  
"Dont move, Kudou." Said Hakuba.  
  
  
None of us moved, we just stood there and waited. I watched the fire spreading quickly all around us.  
It was so hot. All I could hear was the wind howling and the sound of fire burning.  
That was the longest, hardest silence in my entire life so far.  
I was holding my breath.  
  
  
Alice laughed. "No? Then this is what you will get!"  
she pointed the gun at Hakuba, and fired.  
  
  
I watched in horror as Hakuba fell to the ground.  
  
  
  
****************************************************  
To Be Continue----------------------------------------------------  
****************************************************  
  
I will upload chapter 24 very soon (and thats a promise!)----in the mean time, comments please! =^_^=  
I also got some really nice emails from some of you, so this is just my chance to say a big THANK YOU!! 


	24. Let Me Go!

Hello~~Conan Fans  
Thank you all for the reviews, and here is chapter 24! (A long one too!)  
This time, another character will be telling the story. Hope you guys wont get too confused. =^.^=  
Enjoy!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 24  
"Let Me Go"  
  
  
  
  
  
I gasped.  
  
  
Hakuba sat on the ground, grabbing his left arm, blood poured out and covered his right hand.  
I realised Alice didn't want to kill Hakuba. It was just a warning.  
"There will be a couple more bullets in him if that is what it will take for you to get back into the maze." Said Alice.  
"Shit!" cursed Hakuba. "You mad %£$^*&!!!"  
  
  
"--------I cant let her do this to you two." I said quietly.  
"Its just a couple of bullets!" said Heiji. "She is going to kill us anyway, Kudou, you dont have to suffer for no reason." But I saw the look on Hakuba`s face. It must be pretty painful.  
"Dont do it, Kudou." Said Hakuba between his gritted teeth.  
  
I just smiled. "Sorry guys, but I am not going to listen to you two this time."  
I made up my mind.  
I took several steps forward and walked slowly back to the exit of the maze. Towards Alice.  
All this time, Alice was pointing her gun at Hakuba. Eyeing me with a victory smile on her face.  
  
  
I looked straight into her eyes. Those cold, heartless eyes. I wasnt afraid of her, I wasnt afraid of her gun. But I was afraid to let my friends suffer because of me.  
I finally admit defeat, she got us this time.   
Closer and closer towards the exit, I swallowed hard and felt the pressure, the feeling of dread.  
I stopped suddenly, looking down at the exit with disbelieve.  
"The stairs broke in half!" I muttered.  
The stairs were snapped in half, with only the top half attached to the ceiling. It swayed from side to side violently. There were couple meters between the end of the stairs and the ground.  
A sea of fire were already reached the room and spreading fast.  
I saw Lady Norferk`s statue lying on the ground, fire surrounded her. Her big eyes stared up at me.  
The mirror ceiling were slowing breaking apart, glasses shattered and fell all over the places, it landed on the stairs or into the fire with the crisps breaking sounds.  
  
  
"Crap" was one of the word that came into my mind when I looked down.  
"What are you waiting for? JUMP!" yelled Alice, waving her gun at Hakuba.  
I took a deep breath. Looked at Heiji and Hakuba for one last time. I saw their faces, it was the looks that I will never forget. Not that I have a long time left to remember it.  
I lifted my right foot, damn! It was so heavy. My mind and my body were screaming, telling me NOT to do it, but my heart overpowered them. I had to do it. For my friends.  
I thought of Ran.  
"Goodbye, Ran." I whispered, felt a big lump in my throat.  
I was ready to jump into this hell of fire.  
  
  
  
I heard a shout.  
"AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
I spun around and saw a running figure dashed towards Alice.   
It was John!  
He leaped out behind the chimneys and ran towards Alice. How long has he been there?! he must have escaped before all of us and hid behind the chimneys!  
  
  
Alice was obviously too shock to do anything, but John was fast too, he leaped into the air, jumped onto Alice and grabbed her hand.  
"Give the gun to me Alice! I cant let you kill anymore people!!" he shouted.  
"Let go of me! Or else I will kill you!!" screamed Alice.  
They fought like crazy, Alice struggled and kicked, her arms waving in the air, gun was pointing all over the place. John tried to grab her hands and make her drop the gun.  
I saw Heiji and Hakuba came running towards us.  
  
  
I jumped forward, trying to stop this mad woman.  
I reached for her hand and realised the gun was pointing at me. She was pushing John's face away, her eyes saw me, noticing me.  
She screamed, her finger tighten the grip.  
It fired.  
  
I felt a sharp pain as the bullet brushed past the surface of my skim on my right shoulder.  
I grabbed my shoulder, lost my balance and took a step back. I stepped onto nothing but air.   
  
  
I toppled over and fell into the maze, onto the stairs, landed on my back.  
It was wobbling violently, I couldn't get a chance to steady myself, I felt my whole body was thrown forward.   
In just a matter of less than three seconds, I found myself rolling down the stairs. Unable to stop.  
  
  
  
*****************************************************************  
*****************************************************************  
  
At the same time, Hakuba and Heiji watched in horror when Shinichi fell into the maze.  
Alice and John were still struggling, Alice barked a laugh when she saw Shinichi`s figure disappeared into the exit of the maze.  
"Die!" she shrieked.   
John got hold of the gun, but couldn't make Alice let it go.  
The gun was between them, four hands fighting, grabbing over it, Alice was clawing at the gun, strips of blood appeared on John`s hand.  
  
  
"LET IT GO ALICE!!" shouted John. Alice didnt stop.   
  
  
BANG!!!!!!  
  
  
The loud noise shook Hakuba. He stop running and watched.  
He saw John and Alice widen their eyes.  
Alice was staring straight into John's eyes. It was a look of disbelieve and surprise.  
John opened his mouth, but nothing came out.  
  
  
He watched Alice, his wife, slowly slipped down onto the ground between his arms.  
Her eyes became lifeless and her body relaxed.  
John looked down onto his hand. Blood.  
  
  
In all that confusion, John accidentally touched the trigger and fired the gun. It was aiming at Alice's heart.  
"Alice-----??" John whispered.  
But Alice didn't reply.   
  
  
John held her in his arms, his face was pale, lips were shaking. A line of tears came rolling down his face.  
The madness on Alice's face disappeared, her eyes stared blankly into the sky. Now, she was just a lifeless body, resting between her husbands arms.  
Hakuba watched in silent.   
*Maybe this was the way it supposed to happen.* thought Hakuba.   
  
  
Finally, Alice can stop her killing. That was the end of a woman who were driven to insanity because of jealousy and hatred.   
She couldn't forgive her husband, nor Lady Norferk. And because of this, she destroyed other people's lives. And her own.  
  
*She didn't care much about Pandora.* thought Hakuba. *She didn't know what she wanted, all she could do was find a way to release her anger, by murdering.   
If only she could accept the past and forgive people's mistakes, than, none of this would have happened.*  
  
  
"What have I done----?!" cried John.   
Slowly, he puts down her lifeless body, and held his bloody hands over his face.   
Suddenly, he sprung up and turned around, looked around him. Hakuba saw the distorted look on his face.  
With a desperate shout, John ran towards the edge of the mansion.  
  
"JOHN!" shouted Hakuba, he chased after John and grabbed him. They were closed to the edge of the mansion, John was struggling and trying to jump off the building.  
"You cant kill yourself! It was an accident!" shouted Hakuba, trying to hold down John.  
"Let me go! I deserved this!!"  
"Bloody hell John! Calm down!!"  
"Let me die Hakuba! I killed my wife!!!"  
"FOR GOD`S SAKE, THINK OF ROSEY!!" roared Hakuba.  
  
  
Fire, burning fast the furious, while the two of them struggled, one wanted to end his life, one wanted to save a life.  
Because there has been too much death.  
  
  
************************************************************  
************************************************************  
  
  
I felt the glasses stabbed all over my body when I rolled down, the sharp pain and the speed made it all so confusing.  
I knew in my head that soon, I would reached the end of the stairs and fall into the fire. That would be the end of me. My hands waved, trying to grab something, anything, to stop myself from falling.   
But all I could grab was air.  
I felt dizzy, how many seconds do I have left in my life? When will I stop this falling? Just how long was this stairs? So many questions rushed through my head. No-I cant think, too much, just too much, I cant-  
  
  
Suddenly, everything stopped.  
Nothing was supporting my body, I was in the air.   
This is it.   
My eyes went wide, I waved my hands, trying to reach nothing. I opened my mouth, trying to scream, but nothing came out.  
  
I fell.  
  
  
  
  
  
For about half a second.  
  
  
  
Something grabbed my right wrist. I felt the gravity pulling me down, the sudden stop of the fall hurts my wrist.   
"AHHH!" I let out a yell. That was one of the scariest moment of my life!   
I looked down, saw the burning fire beneath me. I didnt fall in---I didint fall-----  
  
I looked up, head spinning, dizzy, couldn't focus my eyes.  
I saw a familiar face. Big blue eyes and a look of concentration. Sweat and blood covered his face.  
  
  
"HEIJI!!" I gasped.  
  
  
He was leaning over the edge of the stairs, left hand grabbing the handle bars, right hand grabbing my wrist.  
He was too exhausted, couldn't stand up, his legs gave way. With a grunt, he landed heavily on his knees.  
It caused more pain, I could tell from his face.  
  
  
The broken glasses on the stairs stabbed into his knees.   
His own body weight and my weight pulled his knees downward, I heard the glasses crunching beneath him, his knees were bloody and raw, they sank deeper and deeper into the glasses.  
"AHH!!" he let out a cry, the pain must have been too much.  
I could only watched with disbelieve.  
He didn't let go of me. He didn't let go-----------------------------  
  
  
"Damn it Shinichi!" he said between his gritted teeth.   
"I really do HATE you right now, but I aint gonna let you die!"  
"You have to let go!" I shouted. "The fire is going to kill you, the glass---- let me go and jump off the building!!"  
  
  
"Shut the hell up, I can't let you die, Ran will kill me!" He snapped. But he was losing grip.   
He dug harder into my wrist, ready to tear off my skin to save me.  
I felt the hot air beneath me, it rushed up and made it hard for us to breath, I heard the fizzy, rumble sound of fire and collapsing walls all around me.  
Heiji had no more strength to pull me up, I knew it, so does he.  
  
  
"Let.Me.Go." I said.  
"NO!"  
"You CANT die here with me!"  
"Its not up to you to decide!"  
  
This Baka! I couldn't quit believe what he was doing for me. I cant let him die here----there is NO WAY----I must make he let go of me, otherwise the fire would kill the both of us.   
Blood, dripped down from his knees, he was still grabbing onto my wrist. My legs dangling in the air.  
I looked down, there was about five meters between me and the ground. It wont kill me if I fall down, but once I fall, there will be no way of getting back up again.  
  
  
"Hattori--listen to me." I spoke to him softly. I looked up at him, straight into his eyes.   
"Im sorry---about earlier---but you cant die here, Kazuha need you. You cant leave her on her own. You cant die with me----not with me!"  
I could tell from his eyes that what I said was like a hammer, knocking his head.  
  
  
"I need you to stay alive. I need you to tell Ran how much I love her, do that for me, Hattori."  
"Kudou--------" Heiji whispered, I wouldn't be surprise if he starts to cry, because I felt like crying too.  
Heiji was losing grip.   
He bit his lips so hard that I saw a line of blood trickled down the corner of his lips.  
The physical pain must have been too much for him.   
  
  
"LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I roared.  
Heiji flinched and almost let go of my wrist.  
  
  
  
*This is it* I thought. *He is going to let go!*  
We looked at each other, eye to eye, I held my breath, waiting.  
I saw the sorrow in his eyes.  
I was slipping, the sweat and blood made it so difficult for him to held onto me.  
*Any second now----any second---*  
  
  
  
My eyes moved away from Heiji`s face and looked past him.  
Another head appeared behind Heiji.   
Two arms grabbed Heiji`s waist and pulled him. I saw the injured left arm.  
Heiji turned his head to look who was behind him.   
"HAKUBA!!!"  
  
  
"I told John to sod off, he can do what ever he wants." Said Hakuba. "He insisted on killing himself, but I was more worried about you two." He grinned.  
Heiji let go of his hand on the handle, and used two hands to grabbed my arm. He got a better grip now, and I stop slipping.  
"Right, now on the count of three" said Hakuba. "One, two, three, PULL!!"   
  
  
Slowly, he and Heiji began to pull me up.  
"What happened to Alice?!" I asked.  
"John killed her."  
"Oh."  
For a second there, I saw hope. I thought we can finally get out of here, together.  
  
  
  
But I was wrong.  
  
  
I used my left hand to grabbed the edge of the stairs, and was about to pulled myself up.  
Suddenly, the whole building shook violently, the walls were collapsing, dust, fire, hot wind, smoke rose up and choked us, it was like hell.   
The stairs swayed violently, I was swung from side to side, that was when Heiji slipped and fell over the stairs.  
  
"AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"  
Hakuba was still grabbing onto Heiji`s waist, he lost his footing and used his right arm to grabbed hold of the handle.  
Left arm still holding onto Heiji, he was leaning over the stairs, half bending over. But he couldn't held on for long.  
Now Heiji and I were both hanging in the air. We were too heavy for Hakuba to hold on.  
It all happened so fast, so sudden.   
My instinct told me what I must do.  
  
  
  
I grabbed Heiji`s wrist with my free hand , and I pulled my wrist out of his hand.  
  
  
I fell.  
  
  
"KUDOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Heiji cried. He reached down his hand at me, but it was too late.  
I saw his face, I saw Hakuba`s big eyes. I saw their shocking expression and I saw fire, that was coming over me.  
I landed heavily on my back, my head hit the ground.  
  
  
Then I saw------------------------nothing.  
  
  
  
**************************************************************  
**************************************************************  
  
  
"KUDOU!!!" Heiji cried. "NOOOOO!!!!"  
"SHINICHI!!" shouted Hakuba, he and Heiji stood on the stairs. Looking down at Shinichi.  
His was lying on the ground, face up, eyes closed. There were blood running down his forehead.  
Fire were closing in on him.  
Heiji couldn't breath, Hakuba felt numb.  
They looked. An indescribable fear and shock took over their minds, paralyzed their bodies.   
  
  
A pair of hands grabbed their shirts from behind and yanked them.  
"Lets get out of here, you two!" yelled John.  
But Heiji and Hakuba just stood there, looking down at Shinichi`s body. Their eyes looked blank.  
"GO!!!" roared John. "I risked my life for you two, we have to go NOW!! The fire will kill us all!!"  
But Hakuba and Heiji seemed to be deaf, unheeding to John's screaming and yelling.  
  
  
Heiji couldn't moved his eyes away from Shinichi`s body, he couldn't think. He couldn't believe what has happened. He felt empty. Blank.  
Fire was burning fast, more and more smoke surrounded them, John was now coughing and cursing behind them.  
"FINE! I WILL LEAVE YOU TWO HERE!!" he yelled.   
  
  
*I need you to stay alive, Hattori.*  
A voice echoed in Heiji`s head.   
*Kazuha need you*  
  
Heiji swallowed hard. He didnt realize how watery his eyes were.  
With all his strength, Heiji tear his eyes away from Kudou, and turned himself around to faced Hakuba., who was still looking down.  
"We must go." He said.  
Hakuba looked at Heiji. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.   
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" shouted Heiji.  
  
Hakuba nodded, bit his lips hard.  
"We cant let Kudou died for nothing." Said Heiji finally.  
  
  
They scramble on all fours, and climbed onto the top of the stairs, coughing and wheezing.   
Only then did Hakuba and Heiji realised tears were running down their faces.  
*It must be because the smoke* thought the boys. But they knew it was not.  
  
  
John climbed out of the exit, and helped to pull Hakuba and Heiji out.  
More and more fire, it was so hot and smoky.  
Hakuba stood up and looked around them, trying to figure out where was the position of the pond.  
"That side!" shouted Hakuba. He pointed to their left side and ran, leading Heiji and John.  
  
They stopped suddenly at the edge of the mansion and looked down.  
It was a LONG way down into the pond.  
They looked at each other.  
  
  
"I cant jumped down!" shriek John. "Its too high!!"  
Hakuba and Heiji exchanged a look.  
  
"On the count of three," said Hakuba. "One, two, THREE!!"  
  
Then the two of them pushed John from behind with out any warning.  
"AHHHHHHHHHH~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!" John screamed on the top of his voice.  
He flew into the air, waved his arms and legs madly, trying to fly for a few short seconds and dropped like a stone.  
  
  
He screamed for a few seconds longer before he hits the water.  
SPLASH!!!  
  
Heiji and Hakuba looked down, searching for John to surface.  
Some bubbles appeared on the surface, Heiji and Hakuba waited anxiously.  
One second--- two seconds---- three seconds----four seconds-----  
  
  
"AHHH~~~~~*cough**cough*" John finally emerged from the water, still shouting.  
He splashed around in the water and starting to swim for land.  
  
"I guess you CAN survive this jump then." said Heiji dryly.  
"Yeah------Want me to count?" Asked Hakuba, looking down, unsure.  
"Yeah."  
"------------Ready? Okay, here goes" said Hakuba. His face was about as nervous as Heiji`s.  
"One. Two. THREE!!"  
  
  
"AHHHHH~~~~~~~~!!!" both of them screamed and jumped off the burning mansion at the same time.  
They leap into the air, felt the wind rushing past them, hair flying upwards.  
Feet pointing downwards, body stretched as long as possible to minimized the impact of the water, eyes shut tightly and held their breath, they fell.  
  
  
Falling---falling-------SPLASH!!  
Hakuba felt the pain when he hits the water, it was so cold but refreshing.  
He sank, he felt his legs touched the bottom of the pond. He opened his eyes and saw the green water, floating plants, several small fish and loads and loads of bubbles that surrounded him.   
He felt the water pressure in his ears.  
He looked up, saw the shimmering light of the Sun above him.  
He kicked his legs, arms waving, swimming for the surface.  
  
  
  
"Puwah~~~*gasp*~~Heiji?!!"   
Shouted Hakuba, he wiped away the water in his eyes, brushing away his wet blond hair, splashing and looking around him.  
Another person emerged right next to him, the sudden burst of water splashed onto Hakuba.  
"That wasnt too bad, eh? " Said Heiji, spitting out the water in his mouth.  
  
  
Hakuba sighed in relief. "See, you are not a bad diver."  
Together, they swam for the land.   
The cold water cooled their heads, it also washed away the blood and the black smudges on their faces caused by the black smoke.  
It was morning. The blue sky and the bright sunlight were looking down at them. Except for the burning mansion, everything else was quiet and peaceful.  
The smell of wet grasses and earth was in the air. It was the smell of England.   
  
  
Heiji kicked hard, his knees was hurting so much, but he didnt noticed that a trail of blood was left in the water behind him. Hakuba`s was trying hard to ignore the pain in his arm too.   
He knew how much blood was bleeding out of him.  
They reached out to grabbed the long grasses that overgrown into the pond.  
They panted heavily, felt the cold water that numbed their fingers.  
Water dripped down from their heads, ran into their blue eyes.  
  
  
Heiji was so tired, he just wanted to lean against the grass and rest ------forever.  
He closed his eyes and began to doubt if he had the energy to pull himself up.  
  
  
A hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.  
He looked up.  
  
  
  
"Kazuha?"  
  
  
It was Kazuha.  
She was bending down, with her hands on Heiji`s hand. Her eyes were red and tears were running down her face.  
"Come on Hattoir, I will pull you up." She said.   
  
Shiho were helping Hakuba to get out of the water, Richard and Rose stood next to John, who was sitting on the grass, looking up at the burning mansion.  
Ran and Aoko were there too.  
They heard the gun firing when they were waiting, then they heard the shouts from Hakuba and John.  
Worried and anxious, they walked closer to the mansion, trying to figure out what was going on.  
After a short while, they heard the screams that came from John when he was pushed down the mansion, so they followed the noise and saw Heiji and Hakuba dived into the pond.   
  
  
Finally, Heiji and Hakuba were out of the water.  
They sat on the wet grass, staring at their girl/friend.  
"Heiji Your Knees!!" gasped Kazuha, she puts her hand on his knee and was so worried.  
"What have you done? Dont move, Okay? I will try and stop the bleeding-----"  
Heiji just stared at her and without thinking, he suddenly reached out and hugged Kazuha ever so tightly.  
  
"I missed you, Toyama--------" whispered Heiji.  
Kazuha blinked, face red. She hugged him tightly too. (despite how wet Heiji was.)   
  
  
"Your arm-----let me see, Saguru." Said Shiho when she saw Hakuba`s injured arm. She kneeled next to him and saw the weariness on his face.  
She held his arm gently and exam it with care. Hakuba just looked at her.  
Their eyes met, and Shiho tried to held back the water in her eyes.  
Hakuba smiled weakly, he reached out and embraced her.  
"I was so worried, Saguru-----" whispered Shiho. Holding him tightly.  
"I know." Said Hakuba. "I know."  
  
  
"Heiji-------" Ran spoke, her lips were shaking. She stood behind Kazuha, waiting.  
She looked at the pound, then at the mansion, then she turned a pair of questioning eyes to Heiji.  
There were fears in her eyes.  
Heiji let go of Kazuha, he stood up slowly to face Ran. He didn't say anything, but his eyes couldn't lie.  
Ran looked at Heiji for a few seconds, and she burst into tears.  
"Shinichi------he didnt----"  
"Ran---I tried----Kudou he--------"   
  
"DONT SAY IT!" screamed Ran. "HE SAID HE WILL COME BACK!" She cried  
"Shinichi---he-he cant be dead! I dont believe you!!" Ran sobbed.   
Heiji stood there, didn't know what to do or what to say. He could only watch Ran cried with a broken heart.  
Aoko came up to Ran and hugged her. It was the only thing she could do for her right then.  
  
Kazuha was now crying uncontrollably.   
John, Richard and Rosey was silent. Richard looked down at his feet. Anger and grieve filled his heart.  
  
  
Hakuba looked around, searching for someone, and he turned to Shiho.  
  
  
"Where is Kaito?"  
Shiho looked down. She didn't reply.  
Hakuba saw the look on Aoko`s face. Her red, swollen eyes said everything.  
  
"No---------Kaito he----?!" whispered Hakuba.  
"Kaito died in the fire. So did Kudou I guess?" asked Shiho weakly.   
Hakuba didn't reply, he just looked at Heiji.  
They never felt so empty, so exhausted in their entire life before.  
They dropped onto the wet grass, unable to move. Tired. Too tired.  
  
Heiji drew his knees up to his face and bury his head in his folded arms. He didn't want any body to see he was broken hearted.  
Hakuba just sat there, looking blankly at the pond.  
Shiho hugged him tightly and sobbed.  
  
  
  
  
  
To Be continue------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
  
********************************************************************  
Catz: You know what, I was dreading to upload this chapter after I read some of the reviews, coz I can just imaging the rage and hate mails I am going to get in the next few-----seconds.   
(Catz curled up in the corner of the room and shivering with fear)  
I am sorry if I managed to caused some of you to cry, depress and feel like killing someone (most likely to be me),But again, I really wanted to write this fic MY way, plus, I still havent finish it yet!   
So please please PLEASE be patient and wait for the final chapter!  
Now, focus on the bit where Heiji hugged Kazuha and Shiho hugged Hakuba---imaging the scene----there, feeling better?(catz trying hard to divert readers attention)  
In the mean time, hate mails, angry reviews, rotting veg, flying knife, hired assassinate, nuclear bombs are all welcome. =^______^=lllb (er---I would prefer not to get the last one----)  
  
Readers: (eyes glowing red, big, fat cross on their heads and rubbing their fists, armed with lethal weapons) Catz, you are SO~~~~~DEAD!!!!  
  
Catz: Oh-- I think I better---RUN!!! (dashing away with readers chasing behind her)(Catz voice trailing away, wailing "Forgive meeeeeeee~~~") 


	25. Hey, Trust Me!

Chapter 25  
"Hey, trust me!"  
  
  
  
  
I looked around myself, saw the fire closing in to me. The heat, the smoke was getting unbearable.  
The paintings was falling off the walls, the ceiling were getting blacker and the paints were dripping down slowly. Thousands and thousands of pounds of antiques were being destroyed in front of my very eyes.   
If I could save them, I would.  
Listening to the fizzy sound of the burning furniture, the rumbling sound that came from beneath me, I felt so lonely, so isolated.  
I watched till they escaped out of the mansion, and I dragged myself to sat in the corner of the room, unable to move.  
I laid down slowly, staring straight at the ceiling, the floor was getting hotter and hotter. In comparison, my body was cold and weak.  
  
  
I groaned, the pain was keeping me awake.  
I just want to lie here, fall asleep and never wake up again.  
Yes. I wanted to die.  
  
  
I closed my eyes, what was happening around me was too horrifying. Didn't want to watch--------  
I started to think, I have been doing a hell of a lot of thinking lately, and one of them was her.  
  
  
Her eyes---the tears----she was crying, she wanted to die with me, but I wouldn't let her.   
So I kissed her.   
Damn, she is so gona kill me when I see her again-----oh wait, what am I talking about? I wont see her again------ I wont see her blue eyes and long, black hair ever again----------  
I told her who I really am, and I know she knows. I could tell from her eyes. She was shocked, but everything became clear to her at that moment.  
Why did I decided to tell her? Well-----I am not sure. I guess I wanted to confess to her before it was all too late. I never realised how much she meant to me until then.   
I smiled. It was a good kiss.  
  
  
I decided it was best not think about it, just clear my head, stay blank and wait for the fire to devour me.  
But I couldn't.  
So much emotion was go through me, so many things that pop into my head.  
  
  
I thought of another person that means the world to me.  
My father.  
I could picture his face in my head, his warm smile, his voice-----everything, even after so many years,  
I still have the vivid images of him and everything we done together.  
  
  
He looked sad.  
"I'm sorry, dad----I didn't find out who killed you---I cant----" I whispered, feeling a lump in my throat.  
My father just smiled, it was a sad smile.  
Something in his eyes was speaking to me, having a go at me.   
I put my hand over my face, felt the sweat that came running down, I heard my breathing, fast and heavy.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*What am I doing?*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*This ain't like you, Kaito Kuroba!*  
*Lying here dying, this is NOT the style of KID the phantom thief either! Get up you stupid idiot!*  
A stupid idiot? Now, that sounds familiar--------  
I heard Aoko`s voice. "Kaito you idiot! What are you doing?!!"  
  
  
  
I coughed, open my eyes. It was so bright, the fire and the heat made my eyes watery.  
My head and my mind was as clear as a deep blue lake. An energy erupted within me.  
"Never gives up" I said, talking to myself.   
"Its not over until its all over, so move your legs and get the hell out of here!"  
  
  
I struggled to stood up, I kneeled on the floor, panted for a few seconds, and took a deep breath, with a grunt, I stood up, holding my stomach.   
It was painful, but I was determined to get out of here.  
  
I looked around myself, between the fire and the black smoke, I saw the stairs that leads to the second floor.  
Go upstairs. That was the only way. I dont know how the hell I am going to escape the building if I go up, but---------  
  
Hey, wait. An idea pop into my head.  
Maybe if I get into my room and use that-----?  
I grinned.   
  
Oh yeah, KID the phantom thief is back.  
  
I cant wait to hear her calling me an idiot again when I see her.  
And to be honest, that is pretty stupid.  
  
  
I took a step forward and starting to walk towards the stairs.   
  
  
**************************************  
  
  
He opened his eyes. Trying to focus. He felt dizzy and faint.   
He sat up slowly and looked up at the mirror ceiling.  
Between the fire and smoke, Shinichi saw three figures disappearing out of the exit.  
  
  
"They made it!" said Shinichi to himself. A happy feeling came over him.  
Then he felt a stabbing pain suddenly pierced through his head.  
"OW!"   
He grabbed his head and felt the wet blood.   
Shinichi realised he was in deep trouble.  
"Why the hell aint I dead yet?!" muttered Kudou to himself.  
*but then I think its not something that most people will usually complain about.* thought Shinichi.  
  
  
"At least they are out, all they need to do is jump off the building into that pond------I am sure they will be all right." Thought Shinichi.  
"But I am NOT all right."  
  
  
He stood up and saw the fire. It wasnt burning inside the room since the whole room was made out of stones and mirrors, there wasnt much that the fire could burn with,   
but the air was feeding the fire and the smoke was rushing into the room.  
The stairs was now too high for Shinichi to reach, it was still swaying side to side.   
Shinichi looked around himself, realised he was trapped in the room.  
There was just him, the fire, smoke and the statue of Lady Norferk lying on the floor.  
  
  
"Shit!" he thought. "There is no way getting out of here------I am going to be burn alive in this room!"  
Unless some miracle happen, Shinichi knew that he wont get out of the mansion alive.  
He sat down again, drew his knees up to his chin and just looked. There was no hope in his eyes.  
  
  
"This is it" thought Shinichi. "I am going to die here----not the best way to end your life, but there is nothing more I could do."  
He thought of Ran.  
"Ran------how is she going to cope without me? Will Heiji tell her what happened to me?" It was painful just to think that Ran will be on her own.   
So many questions rushed through his mind. *Does she know how much I love her?*  
"Just one more time-----let me see her one more time." Whispered Shinichi, he wasnt sure who he was talking to, but he couldn't help the heart broken feeling. He felt angry.  
Why does this has to happen? He's engaged to the only woman he ever loved, and now they are not even going to get marry?  
He wants to be with her so much-----------------------------------------  
He felt so tire, too much carbon dioxide was making him sleepy, his mind was getting foggy------  
But all the time, the image of Ran stayed in his head.  
  
  
Kudou coughed, he stare blankly into the space in front of him. The statue was laying there.  
At the bottom of her feet, the ground was sparkling.  
Shinichi blinked, not sure whether his eyes was playing tricks with him or not.  
"What is that---?!"  
he scrambled onto his feet, to get a closer look.  
  
  
On the stone floor, there was a round shape, dented inside the ground. It was very irregular, about the size of a palm. It had different patterns carved in it and the dented area were in gold.  
Shinichi looked, he used his hand to push the dented hole, and felt it sank deeper and deeper into the ground. It was like a bowl, resting on a spring.  
  
  
Shinichi quickly pulled his hand out, because in no way was he expecting a *sinking* hole.  
The dented hole came up slowly again.  
"What IS this---?!"  
Shinichi looked hard.   
"If the statue weren't pushed over by Alice, I will never find this because the statue was on top of it. It must be something important, otherwise it wont be in gold-----but that the heck it is?"  
Some sort of device? A trigger? A secret button?  
"A way to escape !" thought Shinichi. "Now I have to figure out how it works-----"  
  
  
The fire was closing in on him, the heat clogged his mind and the smoke was making it hard for him to breath.  
Shinichi coughed and wheezed, knowing very soon he will faint and die, choking on the deadly and hot smoke.  
He could felt the heat behind him, sweat ran down his back, he brushed away his hair, trying to focus, trying to concentrate. The pressure, and nerve was like a huge tidal wave, crushing down on him.  
He must stay calm, otherwise, all would be lost.  
"*Cough* damn---think, Kudou think!! You have seen this somewhere before, but where---the shape----------in gold-------------------"  
Shinichi breathed hard and fast, staring at the hole, feeling the time passing away, each second was vital, he couldn't afford to miss out any second, because it would mean life, and death.  
  
  
"In gold---small size-----round-------"  
A thought pierced through Shinichi`s head like a bullet.  
"THE GOLD ROSE!"  
  
  
Kudou didn't bother to stand up on his feet, he crawled on all fours, to the statue's head, and looked at the gold rose, it was already attached loosely when the statue was pushed over.  
He reached out and easily took down the gold rose.  
"Right, lets hope it works."  
  
  
Shinichi went back to the hole, and carefully, he puts the gold rose inside the shape. It didn't fit in quit well, so he had to rotate it about, and finally, the rose fits perfectly into the hole.  
The hole sank slowly, deeper and deeper, then it stopped.  
  
  
  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
  
  
  
  
Shinichi bit his lips, felt the frustration and dread that came over him.  
Something else was missing. What was it?  
He couldn't concentrate, just keeping his eyes open was difficult.   
But he wont give up so easily.  
  
  
"It needs to be the right weight, it must be measuring how much weight was being put into the hole constantly-------what could it be? Think---damn, I cant even see clearly now------" thought Shinichi, struggling, trying to clear his heavy head.   
It was so hot------so tired--------  
"Something else that rest inside the rose--------"  
Of course, it was something really obvious, but it was very difficult for someone to think straight when they have been running all day, didn't sleep for the last 24 hours, going through physical and emotional pains and on the edge of being burn alive.  
  
  
The fire behind Shinichi suddenly erupted, it burned Shinichi`s back and the pain made him jumped.  
  
  
"AHHH!!" he jumped forward, spun round to looked at the fire that was now a few feet away from him.  
Sweat came running down his face, cold sweat. His back hurts, he must got some burns on his back.  
The pain suddenly made his mind reacts faster than usual.  
  
  
  
"THE BLUE GEM!" shouted Shinichi, he reached into his trouser pocket, and took out the blue gem.  
"Did Hakuba and Heiji really believed I lost the gem?! Well, even if they didn't, they sure did a pretty good job acting!" thought Shinichi. It was another trick of his, of course.  
  
  
He knew that if Alice caught up with them, she will kill them no matter what. So he pretend to put the gem in his top pocket, just so if Alice asked for the blue gem (which she did), Shinichi could act like he lost it,   
that way, she could never get it back.   
And maybe after the whole thing is over, Richard's family could retrieve off his body later-------but he couldnt have done it without Alice really believing he lost it. Well, that was his plan anyway.  
So, Heiji and Hakuba`s reaction was vital.  
Without their stunned expression, Alice could tell easily Kudou was lying and still retrieved the blue gem from him.  
  
  
"Now----put the gem in------please let it work----!!" prayed Shinichi, as he carefully laid the gem into the gold rose.  
  
  
The hole sank deeper, and deeper--------then it stopped.  
  
A loud crash went behind Shinichi, he looked back, saw the walls that was collapsing, the entrance of the room was disappearing with the fire.  
"Damn! There is no time left!!" cursed Shinichi, he backed away from the fire, coughing and wheezing, retrieved to the far end corner of the room, the broken stairs were swaying above him.  
  
  
He leaned closely against the wall, staring at the fire. Death, was not far away.  
A strange noise went of behind Shinichi, an he suddenly felt something was moving away from his back.  
He turned and saw a part of the stone wall behind him was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the wall.  
The moving part of the wall was about two meters high and a meter wide.   
He could hear the squeaking noise of the mechanics within the wall, the wheels turning, the clanking and banging noise that almost deafening him.  
He watched, waited.   
  
  
The wall sank about a meter deep and revealed a long, narrow stairs that lead upwards.  
A rush of cold, fresh air blew into his face, he had never feel so relieved before.  
Shinichi held the urge to let out a cry of happiness.   
He looked back, saw the statue of Lady Norferk.   
The fire already surrounded her head, it danced around her, the reflections of yellow and gold cast onto her beautiful face.  
she was now a statue with the colours of gold and silver, the most noble colors blended prefectly on her silver body.  
Her big eyes were looking at him. Her face was smiling.  
  
  
Shinichi smiled, he then saw the sparkling object near the statue's feet.   
The fire was closing in on it quickly.  
He dashed towards the statue, bent down and picked up the blue gem from the hole, before the fire burn his hand.  
"Thanks, Lady Norferk." Whisper Shinichi.  
He then ran into the secret exit and disappeared, leaving behind the fire, the smoke, the broken mirrors, the gold rose and finally, the statue of Lady Norferk.  
  
  
Few seconds later, a loud CRASH!!! Shook the entire building.  
The room collapsed and destroyed the last memory of the mirror maze.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
I panted.  
So many stairs, I couldn't believe how I managed to climb.   
Each time I lifted my feet, the stabbing pain shot through my entire body, so many time, I thought I was going to faint and never, ever open my eyes again.  
But I am still alive.  
I managed to climb to the second floor, dragging my legs and banding over like a hundred years old man with serious arthritis.   
  
  
I tripped over, landed on my knees.  
I bit my lips so I wouldn't cry out in pain.  
The fire was steadily catching on behind me, it spread very quickly and pretty much burned the entire ground floor of the mansion, now the smoke was so thick that it was difficult to see. And breath.  
I kept my face close to the floor, where there was still some breathable air.   
I half-closed my eyes, trying to figure out which direction I was facing.  
  
  
Hey, losing several liters of blood do tend to make you a bit disorientated. Or at least it felt like several liters.  
It took me several seconds to figure out where I was, and I decided to turn left, back to my room.  
The corridor was long and dark, I knew this is a big room, but now, the place seemed like a castle.  
But I noticed a glimpse of light was coming through the windows, seeps through the thick, black smoke above me.  
Ah----it must be morning already.  
  
  
I felt the heat behind me, the fire that was catching onto me so quickly. It was already burning halfway through the red carpeted stairs.  
"Why the hell do they always have those thick, heavy, stupid, BURN-ABLE bloody carpets in England?!"  
I thought. "Stone floors would be much safer------"   
Silly things to think about at a time like this.  
  
  
I struggled forward, crawling on all fours so I could get the fresher air, but I was coughing none the less.  
I saw the doors----so many door---which one is it?!  
Couldn't think-----head dizzy----sleepy-------no, must keep myself awake!   
I went up to the door on my left, pushed it open.  
  
  
It was the stock room. What I saw certainly woke me up.  
Louise was there. her body, cold and limp.  
I bit my lips and turned my head.  
There was nothing I could do for her or Mike. Anger and sadness filled my head, I feel sorry for them both. But there really was nothing I could do. Their bodies will disappear with the fire soon--------   
I closed the door and decided to move on.  
  
  
Which one is my room? Damn, I couldn't even see properly, the smoke was too thick.  
I crawled forward and opened another 3 rooms, they were the bath room, toilet and another stock room.  
Further down on my right, a large two doors room.  
That was the library. The doors were closed tightly, and I didn't bother to open it. I gotta save all my energy.  
So my room should be---let me think----further down on the left--------------the second door?  
  
  
  
I coughed and moved past the library, that was I heard a squeaky noise behind me.  
I stopped and slowly turned my head.  
Was something wrong with my ears too? Or did I really heard that noise?  
  
  
The doors behind me opened slowly.  
I watched, didn't know whether it was horror or shock that took over me. Maybe both?  
  
A hand appeared, a bloody hand it was. It held onto the door for a few seconds, and let go.   
Then some coughing noise. Okay, so there was a person still in this mansion.   
Alice? John?  
  
  
A figure appeared slowly behind the doors, it stumbled forward and almost tripped over.  
It stopped itself and looked around.  
It saw me.  
  
The surprise and shock that went through my head was something I will never forget.  
  
  
  
  
  
"-----------Kudou?" I whispered.  
  
"-----------Kaito?" He asked, blinking his eyes.  
  
  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!" we both shouted at the same time, and we both bit our lips because it hurts to speak so loud.  
"What the hell---where is everyone?" mumbled Kudou, he stared at me like he just seen a ghost, then it obviously clicked in that detective brain of his that I was seriously injured.  
He quickly came over and puts my arm over his shoulder, helping me to stood up.  
  
  
"I was going to ask you the same thing------where is Hi-Heiji and, that, that ----guy?"  
I struggled to speak, pant heavily at the same time.  
Kudou looked at my face for a second or two, and he noticed my bloody, still slightly wet stomach.  
"Shhh---dont talk too much, they escaped, but I was left behind."  
I opened my mouth, but Kudou quickly finished his sentence.  
"They had no choice, I will explain to you when we are out of here, it was NOT their fault."  
  
  
He starting to walk, I looked at him, I saw several cuts on his face, loads of cuts on his clothes----and he was really well "smoked" like me, the black smudges were all over him.   
His shirt was badly burned on the back, it revealed his red, wounded back.  
  
Damn, just what the hell happened to him?!  
  
  
"To my---our room----quick." I said.  
"Why?"  
"Unless you--- have a better idea--- on--how to get out of here?" I asked. A bit pissed off now because he told me not to speak, and now he is asking me questions that I have to answer?  
"---None at the moment. The only way out is on the ground floor, and the fire was too big for us to even go back-----I don't know how to get to the top of the mansion, otherwise we could jump into the pond--------  
we have very little time left-----so, what's your plan?" he finally asked, after considered all the possible escape route.  
I must admit sometimes, I do get a bit annoyed with his *detective* attitude.  
  
I grinned.  
"Take us to our room------and I will show you."   
"-------why do I have a feeling that I wont like what I am about to see?" he muttered.  
  
  
We finally arrived outside of our room.   
Shinichi kicked the door open, and we dragged ourselves in.  
I stumbled towards my bed and Shinichi closed the door behind us. He then grabbed the bed covers and blocked the space under the door, to stop the smoke from seeping through so quickly.  
  
  
I sat on the floor, next to my bed, and put my hand under the bed to pulled out my luggage .  
Shinichi opened the windows, he turned around and saw me opening my luggage.   
I took out my favourite clothes ever and held them up to showed it to Shinichi.  
  
  
And Kudou face froze at the moment. It was half way between frowning and angry.  
Not to mention the shocking and disbelieve expression.  
I burst out laughing, though it hurts like hell.   
  
  
"KUROBA?!!" he roared. "You had us trap in here just so you can die as KID?!!"   
I was till laughing.  
"KUROBA YOU-YOU BAKA! You are the biggest idiot ever!!!!" Kudou was roaring on the top of his voice. "You pathetic, sad freak!!"  
"Chill----Kudou!" I grinned, watching his face changing colours between red and green.  
"I need to ask you a little favour, that will get us both out of here, and keep me out of trouble." I winked at him.  
"-----------------"  
He didn't reply, but I could tell from his expression that his desire to beat the crap out of me was pretty strong.  
  
  
  
"Hey, trust me, I am KID!"   
I grinned.  
"And I believe its the time to perform a little magic of mine!"  
  
  
***********************************************  
To Be Continue----------  
***********************************************  
  
  
  
Catz: TA~DA~~~!!! See-----told you I hate sad endings!! =^0^=   
Yo Conan fans are cool with me now, right? =^.^= (Catz with a huge grin on her face, slowly but still a bit unsure, starting to remove her helmet and bullet proved vest.)  
I planned this a~~~ges ago, and it was such an exciting *experience* to be able to write it all down------(Catz sighed with content)  
Okay, I wont talk too much now------plz, plz PLZ write a review for this chapter, I SO want to know what you guys think!!  
A BIG thank you to you all, especially those who wrote the reviews-------   
Oh, and by the way------this aint the last chapter!! (Just thought I will let you know----)(hehehehe---) 


	26. Whats He Doing There!

Chapter 26  
"What's he doing there?!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The red fire engines arrived one by one outside the hotel.  
Along with white ambulances and a black helicopter.   
They surrounded the burning hotel, fire fighters jumped out and grabbed the water pipes, trying to attack the fire, but even they knew, that little water of theirs had no effect on this fire.  
  
The helicopter landed on the hill that was not far away from the hotel.  
A chubby man jumped out of the helicopter and ran towards the mansion.  
He had worry written all over his face.  
  
  
In the other police car, Anne and Henry also dashed and ran.  
Anne covered her mouth, her eyes widen with the heart broken scene in front of her.  
Tears came rolling down her face.  
Henry stood there, face as whit as a sheet.  
They couldn't believe their beloved home was burning away, falling apart.  
"Richard-----Louise-Mike---Alice and John---and all our guests---where are they?!!" shouted Henry suddenly.  
"Somebody find them!! They are still in the mansion?! Someone help them!!" he went berserk, panic took over his mind, he grabbed the nearest fire fighter and shook him wildly. "Help them! Please--!!"  
The fireman could only looked at him with the helpless expression.  
  
  
  
"Henry!! Anne!!" a distance voice went off behind him.  
Anne looked at the direction where the voice was coming from, and she gave out a cry. Then she sprung forward and ran towards her little brother.  
Henry also let go of the poor fireman and ran as fast as he could.  
  
  
  
Richard, John and Rosey walked slowly towards them, exhaustion was written all over their faces.  
Ran, Aoko, Shiho, Kazuha, Heiji and Hakuba were all walking together slowly.  
They all had injuries and bruises all over their bodies.  
  
  
The medics soon saw them and rushed towards them. The ambulances also drove right up to them.  
The group stopped walking and remain silence. None of them wanted to speak. Too much grieve was in their minds.  
Anne and Henry was crying, Anne thrown herself towards Richard and hugged him tightly.  
Henry also hugged John, but he noticed the strange expression on his uncle's face.  
"----where is Aunt Alice and Louise? Uncle Mike?" asked Henry, looking hopefully at Richard.  
Richard bit his lips and looked down at his feet. He finally opened his mouth with great difficulty and told them what happened to their aunts and uncle. Rose hugged tightly with Richard all this time.  
A few minutes later, came the wailing cry of Anne and stunned silence of Henry.  
The police came over and surrounded the five of them.  
  
  
  
On the other side of the police cars, our favourite groups were surrounded by the medics.  
The medics first grabbed Heiji and Hakuba, because of their injuries.   
They sat down on the wet grass and let the medics asks all sort of questions, but the two of them just couldn't be bothered to answer anything.  
They just sat there and let the medics rip open their shirts to clean and bandage their wounds.  
Their eyes hardly left the burning mansion which was in front of them.  
  
  
  
The girls stood there, watching the burning hotel and the streams of water that shot into the hotel.  
The yellow and red fire reflected on their faces. They could also felt the heat of the fire brushing over their faces.  
Ran and Aoko was still crying, but only tears, no voice.   
They had no more energy left to cry out.  
  
  
"Saguru!!" shouted a chubby man.  
Hakuba moved his eyes away from the hotel and saw the man rushed towards him, then the man stopped in front of Hakuba.  
"Are you ok?!" he asked, opening his arm and gave his son a tight hug.  
Hakuba flinched and grunted.  
"Oh----sorry---did that hurt?" asked his father.  
"--------Im fine---" replied Hakuba quietly. He looked at his father.  
  
"----I am sorry, Saguru." Said the man, he saw the anger and sadness in his sons eyes.  
"We couldn`t arrive here in time because of the storm. I tried to contact you but all the phones were disconnected in the mansion. The mobile had no signals--- I sent out the police as soon as the storm stopped.   
We also got the report from the public that they saw black smoke coming out of the mansion an hour ago, but the fire engine and ambulances had some trouble getting here because of the fallen trees that blocked   
the roads due to the storm------ what happened, Saguru?"  
  
Hakuba just turned his head away. He didn't reply.  
His father just sighed and looked at his son, worrying, wondering exactly what happened. He had never seen his son so miserable before.  
To be honest, he didn't quite know what to do about it.  
  
  
Shiho came up to Hakuba and sat next to him, she held his hand, and looked at Hakuba.  
They only stare at each other for a short while and both looked away to the mansion.  
Hakuba`s father also noticed how close these two had become. He trotted away, smiling, calling his wife on the mobile to let her know that their son is fine. And he got a real nice girlfriend.  
  
  
Heiji groaned a bit when the medic disinfected his knees with some solution, it stung so much.  
He sat on the floor, stretched his legs, arms supporting his upper body.   
The medic who was cleaning his wounds saw the small charm that rested between his chest. She reached for it and wanted to take it off so she could bandage Heiji properly, but he stopped her.  
"No-----leave it---I want to wear it." He said.   
The medic looked at him with a puzzling look on her face.  
  
  
  
"Is it because I told you to wear it?" Said Kazuha, she came up to him and gave him a weary smile. It was forced, Heiji saw her big watery eyes. She sat next to Heiji, looking at him.  
"Toyama-----"  
"I am glad you are alive---Hattori----I really am-----" her voice trailed off.  
"But I had to abandon Kaito------it was horrible----poor Aoko----" Kazuha sobbed. "He-he told us to----"  
"Look, Toyama---I had to abandon Shinichi too, I could have saved him----"  
Kazuha nodded, she wiped away the tears.  
"Now we have to help Ran and Aoko, they suffers the most, Hattori---we have to help them."  
Heiji whispered "I know-----."  
He then reached out and gently let Kazuha rested her head on his shoulder, (much to the annoyance of the medics).   
Kazuha blushed again. If this was any other occasion, she might feels really happy and content, but now, all she could think about was Ran and Aoko.  
  
  
They watched Ran and Aoko standing close together, looking at the burning mansion.  
They didnt move a bit, just like two statues.  
Their backs looked so lonely and mournful.  
What was going through their minds?  
  
  
Kazuha and Shiho decided to make them sit down, they must be exhausted too by now. They walked up to Ran and Aoko with cups of water, and gently patted their shoulders.  
Ran and Aoko flinched, both looked like they were in a daze, like they were living through a nightmare.  
Kazuha and Shiho just hugged them tightly, and the four of them sat down, leaning against each other, stared into the burning mansion.   
  
After what seemed like a century long, the fire had no intention of stopping, they continued to devour the mansion, the thick, black smoke rises slowly up towards blue sky.   
The thin stream of water coming from the fire engine simply evaporated into more steam, in became a strange scene when those steams created small rainbows around the mansion with the sun shining behind them.  
  
  
They watched, and waited-------- even though they dont really know what they were waiting for.  
  
  
A white, flashing light suddenly came dashing out of one of the window from the mansion, it shot towards the sky and exploded with a clear, loud bang. The noise echoed between the air.  
Ran and Aoko flinched. Their eyes went wide and they stare at that window, Kazuha and Shiho looked confused. Heiji and Hakuba frowned. The fire man? They just looked at each other.  
"What the heck was that?!"   
  
"------Shinichi----" whispered Ran suddenly, she stood up and starting to breath excitingly. A red flush came over her face.  
"Kuroba---!!" shouted Aoko, she too, looked excited.  
"Ran-----?" asked Kazuha, she looked at her and wondering what she is on about.  
Suddenly, Ran and Aoko sprung forwards and ran towards the hotel, leaving Kazuha and Shiho shocked and puzzled. Still, they ran after Ran and Aoko.  
  
Heiji and Hakuba both struggled to stands up and went after the girls. Unheeding to the medics shouting at them.  
  
  
Running faster and faster, Ran and Aoko almost tripped over several times, but their instinct told them that they must not stop, they must get to the mansion!   
They panted, long, black hair waving in the air, eyes watched, hoping, expecting.  
  
  
They finally arrived just a few hundreds yards away from the mansion, Kazuha and Shiho caught up with them and grabbed them.  
"What the heck is going on?! Are you two mad? Its dangerous to get too close to the mansion!" shouted Kazuha.  
"No---it was them! I know it was!" said Ran, she looked at Kazuha.  
"Ran---Shinichi and Kaito are gone, you -" began Shiho.   
  
  
But she didnt have the chance to finish her sentence.  
As if by magic, their eyes were fixed towards the window were that small white light came from.   
  
  
A white figure appeared from that window, between the fire and smoke, his cape flowing lightly in the air. Like a phantom, he stood there.  
Heiji and Hakuba also caught up with the girls. Their mouths were wide open.  
  
  
"What the hell is he doing there?!!" gasped Hakuba.  
"I dunno, but it seems that he is going to be a hero again----" shrugged Heiji.  
"How the hell did he get in there--?Or how long has he been there??"  
"He must be here for the Pandora too." Muttered Hakuba. "Shame he wont get it this time"  
  
  
"------KID!!!!" shouted Aoko excitingly. "ITS KID!!!" she grabbed Ran`s arm and tries to control the urge to jump up and down with joy.  
Then she suddenly realised that she shouldn't call him KID anymore. A shadow came over she face.   
  
  
"----or should I say its Kuroba?" She said to herself quietly.  
  
  
  
  
To Be Continue-------------------------------  
  
  
*************************************************  
Hello Conan Fans~~!  
  
First of all, my sincere apologies to you all, who have been waiting for the past 3 months, for me to upload this chapter. Mmmm---I should explain why I have been this irresponsible.   
That is because---well, I am an Uni student now!! =^0^=  
Yep, and my first semester just finished, so now this is my Xmas holiday. I have so much work to do (*cough**cough**not becuase I have been partying all the time or anything-----**wink*),   
that I hardly have the time to check my emails either.  
Secondly, I have been ill since I got home (again, not because I party too hard or anything *wink**wink*) and all I have done is sleeping----(okay, now that aint good).  
Anyway---now I am back, so I will up load the story more often~~~~~thank you for your comments and supports, Conan fans!!  
  
Catz xxx 


	27. I Love You

Chapter 27  
"I Love You"  
  
"What did you say?" asked Hakuba, staring at Aoko.  
"I---what do you mean?" replied Aoko with a panic look on her face.  
"You said KID is Kaito, didn't you?"  
"No! No I didn't, I mean, I thought-"  
  
"I Knew it!!" shouted Hakuba, looking exciting and furious at the same time. "I knew it, I should have guessed, that jerk!" then he looked at that white figure again, he barked out a laugh. "Damn it, am I glad he is alive!!"  
  
Aoko bit her lips. A thought came into her mind. *Now that Hakuba know KID is Kaito, there is no way I will be able to stop them from fighting with each other!!*  
  
KID now climbed out of the window, and from the distance, the group could see that he had someone else in his arm.   
  
"SHINICHI!!!" cried Ran with joy.  
Heiji smiled, "KID huh? I like that guy more and more now."  
  
KID opened his glider, and with an eased movement, he jumped into the air, and flew. At the same time, a burst of fire came out of the window as if it was trying to swallow them.   
The group yelled and jumped, they watched KID and Shinichi flying closer and closer to them.   
  
KID slowly descent, finally, his feet touched the wet grass and he kneeled down, carefully puts down the person in his arm. The person in his arms seems to be injured really badly, he hardly moved.  
  
Aoko and Ran both sprung towards them, its amazing how they still have the energy to run after all the trauma they went through.  
  
Closer and closer, panting, Aoko literally throw herself into KID, who stood up and waited for them.  
  
Then she stopped dead, the sudden movement throw her off balanced and she landed on her knees, right in front of KID.  
But she wasn't looking at KID, she was looking at the person laying on the ground.  
  
"KUROBA!?!" she gasped.  
  
There, on the wet grass, all bloody and bruised with burnt marks on him, was Kaito. His eyes were closed, and there wasnt much life in him. But he was still breathing, alive and breathing.  
  
Aoko reached out to him, hands trembling, she felt the pain and joy in her at the same time. Pained because Kaito was hurt so badly, joy because he was not dead, he was alive.  
  
"Oh Kuroba-------" Aoko sobbed, she held Kaito`s head gently into her embrace, she puts her face closer to his and let her tears came running down, onto Kaito`s handsome face.  
  
"I was wondering whether you will give me a hug or slap me when you see me." A frail voice whispered into Aokos ear.  
  
Kaito opened his eyes and gave a smile, a small, yet warm smile.  
  
Aoko stared at him, "idiot-------"   
That was all she could say. "----------Idiot" a smile came onto her face too.  
"I will slap you later when you are stronger. I dont want to kill you just yet."  
  
Ran stared at KID, who was standing there, he seemed to be agitated and he kept his eyes on Ran too.  
  
"------Where is he? Did you see him? Did you see Shinichi?!" asked Ran, there was hope in her eyes, even though her lips were shaking.  
KID stared at her, and he took a step forward, he reached out as if he was going to embrace Ran.  
"Kudou he----he's-----"  
Ran noticed the stains of blood that was all over him, seeping through his snow white clothes.   
Was it his blood or Kaito`s blood?  
  
"KID------" Kaito opened his mouth, there was a strange, warning tone in his voice.  
  
KID stopped right here, he took a step back.  
  
"Kudou is alive, I can assure you that. Unlike this guy, he can look after himself better." Smiled KID, he jerked his head toward Kaito.  
  
This caused a glare from Kaito.  
  
Ran felt a sense of relief, like all of the sudden this big, heavy rock was off her shoulder, and the pain that kept stabbing her heart has stopped.  
Her legs gave way and she collapsed onto the grass. But KID reached out in time and gently sat her down.  
He lean closer to Ran, whispered into her ear : "He is alive, and he will come back, like he promised."  
  
Ran blinked, she look suspiciously at KID.   
"How did you-----"  
"I met him, of course, he told me to tell you this." Replied KID quickly. His eyes gazed behind Ran.  
  
Heiji, Hakuba, Shiho and Kazuha were behind them now, they walked towards KID, unlike like Aoko and Ran who literally flew to him.  
Hakuba looked surprised, he saw Kaito on the grass, in Aoko`s embrace.   
An confused expression appeared, "Aoko, I thought you said------" asked Hakuba, but he was cut off.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" asked Heiji in a demanding tone.  
KID smiled, "Pandora, what else?"  
Everyone just stared at him.  
  
KID laughed.  
"Well, since I couldn't find Pandora, I thought I will just pop in and save a life, is that wrong?"  
"Well----no, but you can I have some talking to do." Said Hakuba.  
"Sorry, no can do." Replied KID, he took three more steps back and held up two small white balls in his hand.  
  
"It was a pleasure to meet you ladies, take care."  
And he turned his face to Ran, in a almost caring, gentle voice, he said to her :  
"Look for him, he cant wait to see you."  
  
Then he threw the balls to the ground, a cloud of smoke appeared.  
"DAMN!!!" cursed Hakuba. "Why does he always does that?!"  
  
The group coughed and choked, Kaito was muttering something about he never thought that trick was this annoying.  
When the smoke cleared, KID was gone. Of course.  
  
Ran stood up, she looked around.   
All she could see was the burning mansion, the sun, now was high above her. The fire engine, firemen, police, reporters, the Norferk family far away in the distance, the ambulances-------but where is he?  
  
"I'm going to find him, you guys go to the hospital first." Said Ran to the rest of the group, then she started walking towards the back of the hotel.   
  
"Wait, Ran---I will come with you!" said Shiho, but Hakuba stopped her.  
"She wants to go on her own."  
"But--- we should go with her, shouldn't we?" asked Kazuha.  
"Dont worry----she will find him." Said Heiji, "We dont want to be a nosy bunch and destroy their romantic reunion do we?" he grinned. "No matter how much I enjoy doing that."  
  
***************************************************  
  
I was walking towards the back of the mansion, I didn't know why I decided to walk towards this direction, but something tells me he will be here.  
  
Everyone is back, even Kaito, with my own two eyes, I saw the fire swallowed him, but he survived. KID saved him, and Kaito is strong. And I know Shinichi is just as strong as him.  
  
The grass was drying up, they stop making that wet, squishy sound when I step on them. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction, so no smoke was rushing towards my face.   
  
The smell of burning fill the air, mixed with the fragrance of summer flowers.  
  
I could hear the cracking sounds and popping sounds coming from the mansion. Its still burning, just how long will it burn?  
  
When KID told me Shinichi is still alive, I went all weak and overwhelmed. Just how many times have I been worrying about Shinichi, thought he was dead, he will never come back again?  
  
but he always came back, always-----------  
  
"we still have a wedding to go through, he cant just leave me!!"  
  
I muttered to myself.  
  
The pond, the pond which Heiji and Hakuba jumped into. It was at the back garden of the mansion, and surrounded by flowers like it was a natural pond. Bushes and bushes of English roses surrounded the garden.   
  
All different colours, red, yellow, pink, purple, and even some black roses.  
  
A forest in far end of the garden, extended into several miles. If it weren't for the burning fire, I wont be surprise if I see a dear or rabbits jumping into the forest. The unnatural fire scared them away.  
  
"Shinichi?" I asked. Walking between the bushes, anxious, worrying. The smell of roses was stronger, and I can smell lavender too------------how long do I have to wonder around here?   
  
What happen if Shinichi is not here? What if he's too hurt to move? What if----  
  
A rustle behind me.  
  
I turned.  
  
Shinichi.  
  
He stood in front of the rose bushes, injured, hurt, one hand over his shoulder. Blood seeping through his fingers.  
  
He looked at me, those clear, crystal blue eyes.  
  
I ran.  
  
Closer and closer, I ran into his embrace.   
  
"SHINICHI!!!"  
  
Shinichi was still weak, he toppled over and landed on the grass.   
  
Lying there, I was on top of him, still hugging him, wont let go. At least not for a while.  
  
Rose petals floated down and landed around us, none of us spoke, we just looked at each other, like we haven't seen each others faces for more than a century or something.  
  
And it felt like that too.   
  
We smiled, I had tears in my eyes again, but I dont feel afraid and lonely any more, I dont ever, ever want to be separated from him again. I love him so much.  
  
Finally, I opened my mouth, but before I could even breath a word, Shinichi kissed me. Sealed my lips with his.  
  
"I love you." He whispered.   
I kissed him again. That was all i need to hear.  
  
*************************************************  
  
Phew-----finally, coming towards the end of Moonlight Hotel now, and I cant apologies enough about my delay in writing this story.   
Is there a competition for the slowest writer in the world? Maybe I should enter that! (at least I will come in the top 3?!!)  
More reviews please!!! thank you for reading this fic, cant wait to hear about what you guys think!!!  
  
Catz From London.   
  
************************************************* 


	28. Are We Ready?

Chapter 28  
"Are We Ready?"

* * *

It was a sunny day; the sun was shining down onto the crisps green grass and cheered up the green land with its warm light. 

Birds and bees flying between the wild flowers and trees, the smell of fresh spring surrounded the cemetery. The tomb stones stood there, some couple hundred years old,  
you cant even see any writings on them, only thing you can know from it is that there was a person there, once he/she had a family, but now no one knows who they were  
anymore. Only the green moss and weathered surface on the tombstone replaced the engravings, which make ancient yet beautiful scenery.

The cemetery in England is often very well thought out and old, they have been there hundreds of years, the whole place gives out a peaceful feeling. It's a place where nature  
and human blends together. Wild life often thrives at those places and it's like a beautiful garden. However, the cheerful and beautiful weather was just a complete contrast to how people were feeling at the Perkwood Cemetery today. 

It was a funeral held for the Norferk family.  
There, erected on the green grass were four tomb stones. The names Tracey, Mike, Louise and Alice were engraved on each of them separately.  
A group of people gathered around those tombstones, all with solemn expressions on their faces.

Richard stood quietly, he was holding Rosey's little hand and with his head down.  
William was sitting on the wheel chair, with Anne and Henry standing next to him. All their faces were pale and have tears in their eyes as the priest went through the speech.

Shinichi, Koudo, Hakuba and Heiji were all sitting in the wheelchairs, with their girlfriends standing next to them. After all they have been through a hell of a lot and the  
doctors were amazed that Koudo is still alive after his entire ordeal.

It was a very private funeral, with no one else but the immediate families and friends. None of them want the ugly truth to be spread out into the world.

Finally, the priest finished saying prayers and the girls laid the flowers down in front of the tombs.  
Together, the family weep long with grieve.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what is going to happen then?" asked Hakuba.  
Richard looked at Hakuba. "I do not know, my friend." he sighed.  
They were sitting in a coffee shop. It's been 2 weeks since the funeral.

"Well, the house we have got now is really nice, in the town centre at Bournemouth¡K. its very different from the mansion.. Its not very big and got a small garden, but we are all really enjoying it."  
A small smile appeared on his face. "It's been brilliant, Rose loves the school and enjoying every moment of it, we all love our little sister so much!"  
Hakuba smiled. "She is a very bright and brave girl."  
"Yeah, and the diamonds from our father- the blue and red one, each fetched couple of millions of pounds, so we are not short of money." thought Richard. "Our lives are stable now, though we do miss Tracey, Aunty Louise and Uncle Mike very much¡K." 

Richard fixed his green eyes onto Hakuba.  
"I still have a few questions for you though; there are some parts I just don't understand."  
Hakuba nodded. "We still have couple of hours, fire away." "Well------ about the bleeding portrait, does u have an explanation for that?"

Hakuba smiled. "Yeah, Heiji sorted that one out. It was Tracey. Heiji talked with Mike and found out that she is very good at shooting. A small water gun and fake blood can easily make thatinto a bleeding portrait. The day we saw the portrait, Tracey was with us, remember? We all turned around and that's when she shot the portraits and screamed. If it weren't for her I don't  
think we would even notice it straight away. She was a very convincing actress." "But why would my sister do something like that?!"  
"Well, it's because she wants to find the Pandora herself¡Keveryone in your family knows about it, but none of you could find it. I think she was trying to scare people away-------"  
"and as for the thieves that was creeping around your mansion a couple months a go," said Hakuba, sipping his tea "they were Louise and Mike. They were searching for Pandora too, but theydidn't want to alert people or making it too obvious--- I must say it wasn't too clever of them to dress in black and sneaking around in the dark." 

Richard nodded.  
"Yes----we have maids and butlers, hotel guests all the time, so it won't be convenient for them to search for it in the day time---- "

"So----do u know what is going to happen to John?" asked Richard to his friend.  
"The police have been interviewing him and it seems likely he will be a couple of years, if not, depends on the judge, life sentence for his crime."  
Richard sighed. "He DID help with Alice with all the murders, though he never really killed anyone himself. But he did help with setting up all the traps around the house and it killed Tracey----"  
Richard gritted his teeth and a shadow of anger crossed his face.  
"There is no forgiveness in that."

Hakuba said nothing. He looked down at his tea. (If it weren't for John, Koudo, Heijia and I would most likely to be dead and Alice would get away with her murder-----.) Hakuba looked up at his friend "I only hope, in time, you can forgive his weakness Richard. He did save my life, but that does not cancel out the fact he also helped destroy lives."  
Richard nodded. "I understand. But I also promised him something."  
"Oh??!"  
"He asked me to look after Rose, his only daughter for him¡K.and I promise I would. We would."  
Hakuba smiled. "That's great; I know your mother would be so proud of you!" "¡KDo you have to leave tomorrow?" Asked Richard sadly. "I would love it if u can stay here a lot longer¡K"  
Hakuba shrugged. "I don't know¡Kit depends what Koudo them lo wants to do¡K"  
Just then, a loud noise burst through the entrance of the coffee shop, made the customers jumped with surprise. 

Hakuba rolled his eyes as if he was expecting this.

"HAAAAKUUUBAAA!!!"  
Shouted Aoko.  
"Quick, we have to hurry--!" just before she could finished her sentences, Kaito poked his head out behind her.  
"Get your butt moving man, we are gona be late for the train!!"

Hakuba sighed "You guys are 30 minutes late, and now you are telling me to hurry?" 

Hakuba stood up slowly and puts the coffee money on the table.  
"Well, I will see you again Richard, in 2 weeks time!"  
Richard smiled. "Have a good trip Hakuba!" and he turned around to wave at Kaito and Aoko.  
"I hope you guys will enjoy the 2 weeks holiday!"  
Kaito grinned. "Damn right we will, cheers man, for paying for our trip!"  
Richard nodded. "It's the least we can do to say thank you."

"BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" said Aoko, and they dragged Hakuba out of the coffee shop and head towards the train station.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our favourite group of people were at the Bournemouth train station, waiting impatiently for Aoko, Kaito and Hakuba to turn up.  
Heiji was standing at the platform, munching on snacks and as usual, arguing with Kazuha about little things that makes them more like a couple than ever.  
(In this case, is which food tastes better, hot dogs or Jacket potatoes)

Shinichi and Ran stood together, holding hands and constantly giving each other a loving look. Of course, Heiji and Kaito has been giving them grieve too about how they are too lovely  
dovely and should just get marry soon.

Shiho sat on the bench and read her newspapers, looking bored and uninterested in anything that's happening around her. (cool eh?)

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting!!" Said Aoko when she arrived with Hakuba and Kaito.  
"Are we ready?!"

"Yup!!" replied Ran, all exciting and happy. "I can't WAIT to get to London!! There's going to be so much to see and visit!"  
"Especially Baker Street!!" said Shinichi enthusiastically, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I'm going to learn more about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and of course, the best detective ever in the world---!"  
"Yes yes, Sherlock Holmes, WE KNOW!!" answered Ran, a bit annoyed. "You've said for about the 100th times already¡K."

"Whatever, look, lets just find a seat to sit down and then we can enjoy the trip, ok?!" Said Kaito, "Geesh¡Kits like being on a school trip with a bunch of kids!!"

Then he turned around to find Aoko sitting down on her seat. She looked up at Aoko and gave him a sweet smile.  
"---Aoko?"  
"Yeah?"  
"---- You're sitting near the window!! But I wanted to sit near the window!!"  
"Tough!! I got here first!"  
"That's NOT fair!! I wanted to look outside!! I'm an injured patient, remember?!"  
"What!! You are perfectly fine!! I saw you running around like a little scared girl this morning when Heiji bought back the fish he and Richard caught by the river!!"  
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT-----!!" 

Hakuba grinned "kids eh?"  
He sat down next to Shiho and "casually" yawned, as he stretched his arm and brining them down, he also "casually" puts his arm around Shiho.  
"So lame." said Shiho, she gave him a half-moon eye and then sniggered when Hakuba was pulling a puppy face at her.  
Shiho sighed in content and leaned her head on Hakuba's shoulder.  
"Silly boy." she whispered, in a loving tone.  
"Yup that's me." Hakuba grinned.

The train arrived at London Victoria train station. As the group got off the train, Shinichi pulled Kaito aside and said quietly "Look, I still haven't thank you for saving our lives back at that burning mansion------it was genius though, making me dress up as KID¡Kso I can SAVE YOUR BUTT!"  
"Oh yeah, that, haha, yeah thanks a lot mate, I appreciate it."  
"Do you know what kind of deep trouble I'm going to be in if Ran, Aoko and Hakuba ever found out?!"  
"Yeah¡Kwell, you and me both Kudou, you and me both."  
"Well? what about the Pandora then? You are giving up on taking it?"  
"Yeah¡K well, its not the real Pandora that's why, I'm not going to waste my time and energy on that."  
"How do you know?"  
Kaito shrugged. "I have my ways."  
"-------are you going to be always this mysterious?"  
"Yup."  
"Tsk."  
"Hehe-----but Hey, I mean it man, I own you big time----thanks for covering up for me Kudou."  
Kudou smiled. "Sure, just don't ask me to dress up like a idiot in white again."  
"------Hey!!!!"

"Come on Shinichi!! We have to catch the underground!!" shouted Ran, she ran up to him and grabbed his hand. "What are you guys talking about?"  
"Oh it's nothing, just boyish things-----"  
"Ok-----" smiled Ran, and at that moment, Shinichi caught the look on Ran's face.

Her beautiful blue eyes were sparkling with happiness, she cheek blushing and she was a little bit out of breath from running so much. 

Her silky long black float in the air and she had to brush them out of her face. She saw Shinichi looking at her so she gave a sweet smile with her rosey lips. Shinichi heart beats faster, he suddenly realised how much he loves her, not just because she is so beautiful, have a good heart and personality, is because----------

"I love you soooooo much." whisper Ran in a cute voice.  
"I love you too." replied Shinichi. He kissed her on the lips and time seems to have stopped. 

"OI LOVEBIRDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Shouted their friends, all already on the underground tube and laughing. "We are leaving without you two!!"

"Wait for ussssssssssss!!!!!"" shouted Shinichi, and he grabbed Ran's hand as they ran towards their friends.

Together, they will go onto another adventure¡Kand this time, it's in no other place than in London, the home of the world's greatest detective. One thing we can be sure of,no matter what will happen, they will make it through together, and the friendships between all of them are something that will never fades!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------THE END-------------------------------------------------------------------

Yayayayaya, omg, cant believe ive FINALLY finished this story!! how long has it been? TOO LONG!! „² I hear yo all say. Im gona go back to review, and change some chapters and details etc. Theres still some more work to be done¡K The last chapter is not the best I must admit, so I will keep going back and improve them the best I can.

Well, THANK YOU ALL for your support and all of your incredible patient, encouraging me to finish the story (not to mention the death threat ive received too, hehehe-----)

Honestly, if it weren't for your reviews I doubt very much I will finish the story¡K.so thank you again, from the bottom of my heart for those who willing to spare their time and write down the messages/emails for me. It's what keeps me going!! comments are all welcome, (come on its my last chapter, REVIEWS PEOPLE!!) 

Thank you for reading, hope you have all enjoyed it!!! Long Live Conan!!!

Luv Catz xxx


End file.
